LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 
HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


LIBRARY 

OF   1HE 
UNIVEKSITIT  Uf  ILLINOIS 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


THE 


ASSASSINATION 


OF 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 


Flight,  Pursuit,  Capture,  and  Punishment 
of  the  Conspirators 


.    BY 

OSBORN   H.   OLDROYD 

AUTHOR  OF  "  A  SOLDIER'S  STORY  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF 

VICKSBURG,"     EDITOR     AND    COMPILER 

"WORDS  OF  LINCOLN" 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION    BY 

T.   M.   HARRIS 

Late  Brigadier-General  U.  S.  V.,  ind  Major-General  by  Brevet, 
A  Member  of  the  Commission 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

O.     H.     OLDROYD 

MDCCCCI 


COPYRIGHT,  1901, 

BY 
O.  H.  OLDROYD. 


THI    MER8MON    COMPANY    PRESS, 
RAHWAY,    N.    J. 


PREFACE. 


PRESIDENTS,  kings,  and  emperors  have  not  uafre- 
quently  become  the  innocent  victims  of  private  animos- 
ity, ambitious  rivalry,  treasonable  conspiracy,  and  even 
ignorant,  misguided  patriotism.  Dark,  indeed,  is  the  his- 
tory of  assassinations.  But  in  its  long  and  cruel  records 
no  crime  has  ever  paralleled  in  atrocity  the  murder  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  by  John  Wilkes  Booth,  whose  name 
will  forever  stand  out  conspicuously  on  the  roll  of  in- 
famy  as  that  of  the  arch-assassin. 

Rome  mourned  the  tragic  end  of  Caesar;  France  wept 
over  the  downfall,  exile,  and  death  of  Napoleon;  the 
Netherlands  were  inconsolable  at  the  loss  of  the  illus- 
trious Prince  of  Orange;  but  no  people  of  ancient  or 
modern  times  ever  felt  a  more  profound  sorrow  over  the 
death  of  their  "  foremost  man,"  or  ever  paid  to  his  mem- 
ory a  more  sincere  and  universal  tribute  of  veneration, 
love,  and  tears,  than  did  the  American  nation  on  the 
occasion  of  the  cruel,  wanton  assassination  of  their  be- 
loved President.  Shocking  to  the  civilized  world  as  was 
his  sudden  taking  off,  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  has 
risen  to  shine  as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  in  the 
galaxy  of  History's  most  influential  characters,  never  to 
be  eclipsed  by  the  fame  of  a  greater  or  a  better  man. 
William  the  Silent  fell  when  his  country  could  illy  spare 
him,  and  his  last  words  were,  "  Oh,  my  God,  have  mercy 
on  this  poor  people !  " 

President  Lincoln  died  in  the  hour  of  his  country's 

iii 


IV  PREFACE. 

triumph,  and  could  he  have  spoken  after  the  assassin 
fired  upon  him,  doubtless  his  kindly  words  would  have 
been :  "  Forgive  them,  they  know  not  what  they  do." 
It  is  but  fair  to  state  that  men  are  not  wanting  who 
claim  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  was  the  re- 
sult of  a  Roman  Catholic  conspiracy;  or  that  the  leaders 
of  the  Confederacy  planned  it.  For  one,  I  cannot  be- 
lieve that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  ever  sanctioned 
that  heinous  crime.  There  were  Roman  Catholics 
among  the  conspirators,  but  it  would  be  unjust  to  con- 
found the  innocent  and  the  guilty;  history  cannot  hold 
the  Roman  Catholic  hierarchy  responsible  for  this  as- 
sassination. This  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  Pope 
hastened  with  unusual  zeal  to  deliver  up  John  H.  Sur- 
ratt,  a  fugitive  in  his  dominions,  the  moment  he  heard 
that  he  was  suspected  of  having  participated  in  the 
crime.  There  was  no  extradition  treaty  with  the  Papal 
States  at  the  time,  but  the  crime  with  which  Surratt  was 
charged  was  so  diabolical  that  the  Pope  and  Cardinal 
Antonelli  ordered  the  suspect's  arrest  without  waiting 
for  a  formal  demand  from  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  But  whatever  light  the  author  of  this  book  may 
be  able  or  unable  to  throw  upon  this  phase- of  the  sub- 
ject, he  is  confident  that  he  is  in  possession  of  facts  re- 
lating to  the  general  subject  that  will  be  of  interest  to 
the  reader. 

During  the  last  forty  years  I  have  made  a  very 
extensive  collection  of  books,  papers,  medals,  medal- 
lions, statuary,  original  photographs,  autograph  letters 
and  documents,  furniture  from  the  old  homestead  in 
Springfield,  111.,  and  numerous  other  valuable  articles 
relating  to  Lincoln.  To  many  persons  who  have  visited 
this  collection  I  have  made  the  promise  that  I  would 
some  day  compile  for  future  reference  an  authentic  his- 


PREFACE.  V 

tory  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln,  and  the 
flight,  pursuit,  capture,  and  punishment  of  the  con- 
spirators. In  turning  back  the  leaves  of  history  to  that 
page  on  which  is  recorded  that  awful  incident  of  April  14, 
1865,  I  simply  wish  to  give  a  faithful  record  of  the  plot, 
not  only  to  destroy  a  noble  human  life,  but  the  life  of 
the  nation  and  the  life  of  liberty.  Picture  Mr.  Lincoln, 
if  you  will,  sitting  in  the  private  box  of  a  theater,  a 
victor.  He  is  there  in  relaxation  from  the  terrible  strain 
that  he  had  experienced  in  carrying  the  nation's  burden 
for  four  long  years.  The  very  triumph  that  had  come 
to  him  in  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  army  awakens 
no  emotions  in  his  heart  save  those  of  forgiveness  and 
charity.  The  assassin's  bullet  pierced  his  brain  at  the 
moment  when  the  South  most  needed  his  wise  counsels. 
He  would  have  been  magnanimous  to  the  foe.  It  would 
have  pleased  him  better  to  pardon  than  to  punish.  He 
would  have  overcome  his  and  his  country's  enemies  and 
transformed  them  into  friends. 

The  many  accounts  of  the  assassination  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  that  have  been  written  make  me  hesitate  to  offer 
still  another;  but  having  lived  for  ten  years  under  the 
roof  that  once  sheltered  him  in  Springfield,  111.,  and  eight 
years  later  in  the  house  in  which  he  died,  and  having 
met  so  many  persons  during  the  past  thirty-six  years  who 
either  assisted  in  the  escape  of  the  conspirators  or  took 
some  official  part  in  their  capture,  trial,  and  punishment, 
rare  opportunities  have  been  offered  me  for  gathering 
much  true  and  valuable  historical  data  on  this  subject. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  work  will  answer  the  hun- 
dreds of  questions  that  have  been  asked  concerning  the 
man  and  the  accomplices  of  the  man  who  destroyed  the 
precious  life  of  the  good  and  great  President,  as  many  of 
the  reports  published  at  the  time,  and  many  of  the  stories 


VI  PREFACE. 

since  told,  have  misled  the  people.  As  first  impressions 
are  the  most  lasting,  the  object  of  this  book  is  to  correct 
those  first  false  impressions.  The  many  questions  that 
are  asked  by  the  younger  generation  who  visit  the  "  Old- 
royd  Lincoln  Memorial  Collection "  in  the  house  in 
which  the  President  died,  convince  me  that  they  do  not 
possess  the  true  history  of  that  sad  event,  though  eager 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  facts. 

To  satisfy  that  desire,  I  present  this  book  to  the  public, 
with  the  hope  fhat  the  work,  which  has  been  performed 
with  faithfulness,  care,  and  "  malice  toward  none,"  will 
meet  its  approval.  A  careful  investigation  of  all  the 
facts  and  circumstances  connected  with  the  assassination, 
as  given  by  competent  authority,  tends  to  show  that  all 
the  persons  who  were  tried  were  actually  engaged  in 
the  conspiracy  to  kidnap  or  murder  the  President.  Had 
the  military  court  reached  out  a  little  farther  in  its  in- 
vestigations, I  believe  it  would  have  implicated  many 
persons  holding  positions  of  power  and  authority  in  the 
service  of  the  Confederate  Government. 

Whether  Booth  was  the  hired  agent  of  a  movement 
organized  in  Canada  to  murder  the  President,  and  ap- 
proved at  Richmond,  I  am  unable  to  say,  but  we  do 
know  that  the  representatives  of  the  Southern  Confed- 
eracy, who  abused  the  privilege  of  hospitality  while  in 
Canada,  made  that  neutral  point  a  basis  of  operation 
against  the  United  States,  by  organizing  plots  to  burn 
Northern  cities.  Many  went  to  Canada  to  sneakingly 
operate  in  the  rear,  too  cowardly  to  stand  in  the  front 
of  the  battle  with  the  brave  men  they  deserted. 

There  were  many  persons  throughout  the  country  who 
talked  disloyalty,  sympathized  with  the  spirit  of  murder, 
expressed  treasonable  words,  and  said  Mr.  Lincoln  ought 
to  be  killed,  and  they  would  like  to  shoot  him  or  furnish 


PREFACE.  vii 

the  means  for  his  removal.  While  these  persons  did  not 
actually  perpetrate  the  deed,  their  language,  spirit,  and 
influence  helped  to  a  very  great  extent  to  swell  the  surg- 
ing tide  of  conspiracy  which  culminated  at  Ford's 
Theater.  They  unquestionably  shared  the  responsibility 
for  the  crime. 

As  authority  for  many  statements  regarding  the  evi- 
dence given  at  the  trial,  reference  has  been  had  to  Pit- 
man's report,  and  for  valuable  information  freely  given 
by  officers  of  the  Government  and  others  the  author  is 
deeply  indebted. 

OSBORN  H.  OLDROYD. 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 

October,  igoi. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

REJOICING   AT   THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   REBELLION,    AND    SCENES 

AT   THE   WHITE   HOUSE. 

PAGE 

Rejoicing  of  the  loyal  people,  April,  1865 — The  restoration 
of  the  American  flag  upon  Fort  Sumter — Washington 
illuminated — Happiness  and  hopes  of  the  President, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  April  14,  1865 — The  immediate 
political  restoration  of  the  States  involved  in  the 
slave-holders'  rebellion  resolved  upon — Warnings  as 
to  assassination — Personal  message  to  the  Western 
miners  and  prospectus  to  be  carried  by  Schuyler  Col- 
fax — Invitation  to  attend  the  play  at  Ford's  Theater- 
General  Grant's  unavoidable  absence— Last  familiar 
leaving  of  the  White  House — The  President  arrives  at 
the  theater  at  8.30  p.  M.,  and  is  received  with  a  hearty 
welcome, i 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   ASSASSINATION. 

Ford's  Theater,  its  history,  location,  and  surroundings — 
Location  of  the  President's  box,  with  preparations  and 
decorations  for  his  occupancy  that  evening — Booth 
comes  to  Ford's  Theater  to  obtain  and  read  his  mail 
as  usual — Learns  that  Lincoln  is  to  be  there  that  even- 
ing— A  desperate  decision  is  evidently  made  by  him 
to  accomplish  their  purpose  that  night — Booth's  doings 
during  the  day — Booth  in  the  evening  enters  theater — 
Shoots  the  President — Scenes  at  the  moment,  and  his 
escape — Statements  of  the  actors  and  employees  of  the 
theater,  and  those  present, 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

DEATH   OF  THE   PRESIDENT,  AND   THE   TAKING   OF   THE  OATH 

OF   OFFICE  OF   HIS   SUCCESSOR. 

PAGE 

Calls  for  medical  aid — Removal  from  the  theater  of  the 
•  wounded  President  to  a  private  house  opposite — His 
condition  during  the  night,  and  his  death  at  7.22  A.  M., 
April  15 — Description  of  the  house  and  room  in  which 
he  died — The  distinguished  watchers  who  were  pres- 
ent— Removal  of  the  dead  President  to  the  White 
House — Arrangements  for  taking  the  oath  of  office  by 
his  successor — Andrew  Johnson  takes  the  oath  at  the 
Kirkwood  House  at  n  A.  M.,  April  15 — The  autopsy,  .  29 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION  EVENING  OF  APRIL  14,  1865. 

The  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  only  a  part  of  a 
general  scheme  to  destroy  the  entire  executive  branch 
of  the  Government — The  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Sec- 
retary Seward  by  Payne — The  assassination  of  Vice- 
President  Johnson  assigned  to  Atzerodt,  but  who 
lacked  the  courage  to  carry  it  out — The  doings  of  Her- 
old — The  part  of  O'  Laughlin  and  Arnold,  and  their  call 
at  the  reception  given  by  Secretary  Stanton,  and  other 
incidents — Edward  Spangler  and  his  preparations  at 
Ford's  Theater — Various  plans  as  to  abduction  of  the 
President,  and  other  attempts — The  arrest  of  Payne  at 
Mrs.  Surratt's,  and  Dr.  Mudd  at  his  home — The  prob- 
able flight  of  John  H.  Surratt,  .....  42 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FLIGHT  AND  CAPTURE  OF  BOOTH  AND  HEROLD,  AND  CONFINE- 
MENT OF  THEIR  ASSOCIATES — BIOGRAPHIES  AND  STATEMENTS. 

Major  A.  C.  Richards,  Superintendent  of  the  Washing- 
ton police,  determined  upon  an  immediate  pursuit  of 
Booth  into  lower  Maryland,  but  was  delayed — The 
pursuit  by  party  under  Major  James  R.  O'Beirne,  who 
traced  the  fugitives  to  vicinity  of  Port  Royal,  Va., 
and  then  returns  for  further  orders — Colonel  Lafayette 
C.  Baker,  with  party,  takes  up  the  pursuit — The  cap- 
ture at  Garrett's  place,  Virginia,  and  the  death  of 
Booth — The  march  to  Belle  Plain,  and  return  by 


CONTENTS.  XI 

PAGE 

steamer  to  Washington — Identification  of  the  remains 
of  Booth,  and  burial — The  arrest  of  Mrs.  Surratt — The 
confinement  of  Payne,  Arnold,  Atzerodt,  and  Spang- 
ler — The  credit  of  the  captures,  and  the  division  of  the 
reward — Sketch  of  John  Wilkes  Booth  and  incidents  of 
his  career— Sergeant  Boston  Corbett— Thomas  A.  Jones,  66 

CHAPTER  VI. 

FUNERAL   CEREMONIES   AND   REMOVAL   OF   REMAINS   TO 
SPRINGFIELD,    ILL. 

Funeral  service  in  the  East  Room — Lying  in  state  at  the 
Capitol — Scenes  along  the  route — Universal  grief  of 
the  people — At  rest,  at  home, in 

CHAPTER  VII. 

TRIAL   AND   PUNISHMENT   OF  THE   CONSPIRATORS. 

The  assassination  a  military  crime — Detail  of  officers  for 

the  military  trial — Place  and  scenes  of  the  trial,    .        .115 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SKETCHES   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS. 

Mrs.  Surratt,  George  A.  Atzerodt,  David  E.  Herold,  Lewis 

Payne  Powell,  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudd,  Edward  Spangler,     129 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LOUIS   J.    WEICHMANN. 

Record  of  Louis  J.  Weichmann, 153 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   EXECUTION. 

Records  of  John  M.  Lloyd,  John  T.  Holahan,  E.  L.  Smoot 
— Account  of  execution  by  George  Alfred  Townsend — 
Burial  and  final  disposition  of  remains  of  conspirators,  195 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  CONSPIRACY   AND  THE  CONSPIRATORS. 

The  continuous  scheme  of  the  conspirators — Various  plans 
and  attempts  from  the  date  of  his  first  inauguration — 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Attempt  at  the  second  inauguration — Advertisement 
in  the  Dispatch,  published  at  Selma,  Ala.,  December 
i,  1864 — The  acts  of  conspirators  in  Canada— Visit  of 
Booth  to  Canada,  ....  !  T  .  .  212 

CHAPTER  XII. 

JOHN   H.    SURRATT,    HIS    FLIGHT,    ARREST,    TRIAL,    AND 
ACQUITTAL. 

Surratt  leaves  Washington,  probably  April  14,  1865;  arrives 
in  Montreal,  Can.,  April  18,  1865 — Remains  in  Canada 
until  September  15,  1865,  when  he  sailed  for  Liverpool 
— The  United  States  Government  notified  of  his  arrival 
— Goes  to  Rome,  Italy,  and  enlists  in  the  Papal  Zouaves 
— Arrested,  and  escapes  from  the  guard,  November  8, 
1866 — Leaves  Malta  for  Alexandria,  Egypt,  November 
19,  1866,  and  arrested  upon  arrival — Delivered  on 
board  United  States  corvette  Swatara,  2ist  of  Decem- 
ber, 1866,  and  taken  to  Washington,  D.  C.— Trial— At- 
tempted proof  of  alibi  April  14,  1865 — Disagreement  of 
the  jury — Again  arraigned  for  trial,  but  discharged  by 
the  court — His  lectures  and  statements,  .  .  .  224 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

NARRATIVE   OF  A  WALK    OF   THE  AUTHOR,  MAY,   IQOI,  OVER 
THE   ROUTE   OF   FLIGHT   AND   CAPTURE. 

The  start  from  the  rear  of  Ford's  Theater — Anacostia 
bridge — Good  Hope  Hill,  Surrattsville  or  Clinton — T. 
B. — St.  James'  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  grave  of 
Spangler — Dr.  Mudd's,  Bryantown — St.  Mary's  Roman 
Catholic  Church — Dentsville — Twenty-mile  ride  for 
Henry  Woodland— Cox's  Station  (Bell  Alton  P.  O.)— 
Visit  Samuel  Cox,  and  shown  by  him  the  location  of 
thicket  where  Booth  and  Herold  were  secreted — Drive 
with  Woodland  to  "Huckleberry,"  Pope's  Creek,  and 
Dent's  Meadows — Cross  the  Potomac  River  in  sailboat 
to  home  of  James  A.  Arnold — Gambo  Creek — Mrs. 
Quesenberry's  and  Bryan — Dr.  Stuart — William  Lucas 
— Edge  Hill — Port  Conway — William  Rollins — Cross 
Rappahannock  River  to  Port  Royal — James  Thorn- 
ton— A  chat  with  citizens — Arrive  at  Garrett's  farm,  240 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  eighty-two  half-tone  illustrations  are  from  original  photographs 
and  drawings  in  the  "  Oldroyd  Lincoln  Memorial  Collection,"  in  the  house 
where  Lincoln  died,  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  over  half  of  them  published 
for  the  first  time. 

PAGE 

AHRAHAM  LINCOLN Frontispiece 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Brady.) 
THE  WHITE  HOUSE,          ........        2 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
FORD'S  THEATER 8 

(From  Photograph.) 
LAURA  KEENE,  .........        9 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Fredericks.) 

PLAY  BILL  USED   AT  FORD'S   THEATER   ON   THE   NIGHT  OF 
THE  ASSASSINATION, 10 

(From  the  Original.) 

THE  DAMASK-BACK  ROCKING-CHAIR,         .....       12 
(From  the  Original.") 

BOOTH  IN   THE  ACT  OF   LEAPING  OUT  OF   THE  Box   TO  THE 
STAGE,  AFTER  SHOOTING  THE  PRESIDENT,  18 

(From  a  sketch  by  Berghaus  in  Frank  Leslie's,  May  6,  1865.) 

THE    FLAG   DRAPED   IN   THE   PRESIDENT'S   Box,  IN   WHICH 

BOOTH  CAUGHT  HIS  SPUR 19 

(From  the  Original.) 

BOOTH  CROSSING  THE  STAGE  AFTER  LEAPING  FROM  THE   Box,      22 

(From  Prank  Leslie's,  May  20,  1865.) 
SPUR  WORN  BY  BOOTH,     ........      23 

(From  the  Original.) 

BOOTH'S  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  REAR  OF  THE  THEATER,      .        .      25 

(From  Frank  Leslie's,  May  13,  1865.) 

THE  ASSASSIN'S  VISION,     .        .......      28 

(From  a  Sketch.) 

THE  HOUSE  IN  WHICH  LINCOLN  DIED 30 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
DEATHBED  OF  LINCOLN,     ........       33 

(From  Harper's  Weekly,  May  6,  1865.) 

DIAGRAM  OF   THE  SECOND  STORY  OF  THE  HOUSE   IN  WHICH 
LINCOLN  DIED,        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .36 

(Drawn  by  Gilbert  Thompson.) 

xiii 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

WILLIAM  T.  CLARK, 39 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
THE  ELAINE  HOUSE,          ........      43 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Leet  Bros.) 
MRS.  SURRATT'S  HOUSE, 63 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
HOME  OF  RICHARD  HENRY  GARRETT, 70 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

BOOTH  STANDING  IN  THE  BARN  WHILE  IT  is  BURNING,        .       74 

(From  Harper's  Weekly,  1865.) 

THE  OFFICERS  AND  SOLDIERS  DRAGGING  BOOTH  OUT  OF  THE 
BURNING  BARN  AFTER  HE  WAS  SHOT,  .  .        -75 

(From  Frank  Leslie's,  May  13,  1865.) 
PLAN  OF  GARRETT'S  PLACE,       .        .        .        .        .        .        -77 

(Drawn  by  Gilbert  Thompson.) 
POST-MORTEM   OF   BOOTH   ON   THE   MONITOR   "  MONTAUK,"        .         80 

(From  Harper's  Weekly,  1865.) 
THE  MONITOR  "  SAUGUS,"         .......      81 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

REWARD  BILL  FOR  THE  APPREHENSION  OF  BOOTH,  SURRATT, 
AND  HEROLD, 85 

(From  the  Original.) 

JOHN  WILKES  BOOTH, 89 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

PLAY  BILL, 90 

(From  the  Original.) 
BOSTON  CORBETT 99 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
THOMAS  A.  JONES, 100 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
RESIDENCE  OF  COLONEL  SAMUEL  Cox, 101 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
THE  FUGITIVES'  RETREAT 103 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
ST.  CHARLES  HOTEL,  PORT  TOBACCO 105 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

ALLEN'S  FRESH,          .        .        .        .  .        .        .        .     107 

(From  a  Photograph .) 
HUCKLEBERRY,  THE  HOME  OF  THOMAS  A.  JONES,  .        .     108 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

THE  POINT  FROM  WHICH  THE  FUGITIVES  STARTED  TO  CROSS 
THE  POTOMAC, 109 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

THE  CAPITOL  AT  WASHINGTON,        .        .        .        .        .        .112 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
THE  TEMPORARY  VAULT, 114 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Pittman.) 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  XV 

PAGE 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  MILITARY   COMMISSION,        .        .        .        .117 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

INTERIOR  OF  THE  COURT  ROOM   DURING  THE  TRIAL,     .        .     121 

(From  Frank  Leslie's,  June  3,  1865.) 

PLAN    OF   THE    COURT    ROOM   OCCUPIED  BY   THE  MILITARY 
COMMISSION, .     123 

(From  a  Wood-cut.) 
THE  OLD  CAPITOL  PRISON, 125 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
MRS.  MARY  E.  SURRATT, 130 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
GEORGE  A.  ATZERODT, 133 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
DAVID  E.  HEROLD,  136 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
LEWIS  PAYNE,  139 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
DR.  SAMUEL  A.  MUDD, 141 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Dyer.) 

ST.  MARY'S  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,          ....     143 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
SAMUEL  ARNOLD, 147 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
EDWARD  SPANGLER, 148 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
MICHAEL  O'LAUGHLIN, 149 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
FORT  JEFFERSON,  DRY  TORTUGAS,    FLA.,        .        .        .        .151 

(From  the  Scientific  American.) 
Louis  J.  WEICHMANN, 154 

(From  a  Photograph,  1865.) 

GENERAL  JOHN  F.  HARTRANFT  AND  STAFF,  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE 
EXECUTION  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS,        .....     200 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

VIEW  OF  THE  SCAFFOLD  WHILE  THE  OFFICERS  ARE  ADJUST- 
ING THE   NOOSES   AROUND   THE  NECKS   OF   THE  CONDEMNED,      2O3 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
VIEW  OF  THE  SCAFFOLD  AFTER  THE  TRAP  WAS  SPRUNG,        .     205 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Gardner.) 
BOOTH  LOT  IN  GREEN  MOUNT  CEMETERY,  BALTIMORE,  MD.,     207 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
LETTER  FROM  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GREEN  MOUNT  CEMETERY,     210 

(From  the  Original.) 
JOHN  H.  SURRATT 225 

(Photograph  by  Brady.) 
JOHN  H.  SURRATT, 233 

(From  a  Photograph.) 


XVI  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

EASTERN  BRANCH  BRIDGE, 241 

(From  a  Photograph  by  Brady.) 
STREET  IN  SURRATTSVILLE 244 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

HOME  OF  MRS.  SURRATT,  SURRATTSVILLE,  MD.,     .        .        .    246 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
T.  B 248 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

GATE    LEADING    FROM    THE    MAIN    ROAD   TO    DR.    MUDD'S 
HOUSE, 250 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
HOME  OF  DR.  SAMUEL  A.  MUDD 252 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
THE  HOME  OF  DR.  MUDD'S  FATHER 254 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
BRYANTOWN  HOTEL, 257 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

STREET  IN  BRYANTOWN,  MD.,  LOOKING  NORTH,     .        .        .     261 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
HENRY  WOODLAND .  .  .  264 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

DENT'S   MEADOW 272 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
POPE'S  CREEK,  MD., 277 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

GAMBO  CREEK, 280 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
BRIDGE  OVER  GAMBO  CREEK,  ......  282 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
HOME  OF  MRS.  QUESENBERRY,  ......  284 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
ENTRANCE  TO  DR.  STUART'S  HOME, 286 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
SUMMER  HOME  OF  DR.  RICHARD  STUART,  ....  288 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

THE  HOME  OF  WILLIAM  LUCAS, 290 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

PORT  CONWAY,  VA., 292 

(From  a   Photograph.) 

HOUSE  OF  WILLIAM  ROLLINS,  PORT  CONWAY,        .        .        .     294 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
PORT  ROYAL,  VA., .  .  .  296 

(From  a  Photograph.) 
JAMES  THORNTON, 302 

(From  a  Photograph.) 

MAP  SHOWING  ROUTE  OF  FLIGHT  OF  JOHN  WILKES  BOOTH- 
(From  a  Drawing  by  Gilbert  Thompson.) 


INTRODUCTION. 


WHEN  the  great  soul  of  Abraham  Lincoln  took  its 
flight  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th  of  April,  1865,  his 
War  Secretary,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  who  had  sat  by  his 
bedside  all  the  night  with  a  heart  almost  bursting  with 
grief,  quietly  arose  and  said,  "  Now  he  belongs  to  the 
ages." 

Never  was  this  more  truly  predicated  of  any  man. 
Among  all  the  great  men  of  earth  whose  names  are 
written  on  the  imperishable  rolls  of  fame  none  ever  had 
a  greater  commission  given  him  by  his  Creator,  none  a 
more  important  mission  to  the  world,  and  so  he  was  en- 
dowed by  his  Maker  with  all  the  great  qualities  of  mind 
and  heart  that  fitted  him  for  his  mighty  task,  and  enabled 
him  to  bring  it  to  a  successful  issue.  His  mission  to 
the  world  has  its  only  parallel  in  that  of  Moses.  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  belongs  not  only  to  his  country,  but  to  the 
world  and  to  the  ages.  He  was  in  the  broadest  sense  a 
philanthropist.  His  story  will  never  pall.  Men  will 
never  tire  of  reading  of  Lincoln.  From  his  humble 
birth  in  a  log  cabin  in  Kentucky,  on  to  the  end,  his  life 
is  full  of  interest. 

This  book  treats  of  his  last  days  and  of  his  sad  taking 
off.  Although  it  contains  facts  only,  carefully  gathered 
up,  yet  these  facts  are  of  so  much  interest,  and  of  such 
a  character,  that  it  will  have  the  interest  of  a  novel,  and 
insure  it  a  great  popularity.  The  very  name  of  Lincoln, 
when  pronounced  in  an  audible  voice,  has  a  sweetness 

xvii 


xviii  INTRODUCTION. 

to  the  ear,  and  the  story  of  his  last  days  on  earth  and  of 
his  death  by  the  hand  of  a  vile  miscreant  will  always  be 
read  with  the  deepest  interest.  The  facts  recorded 
in  this  book  have  been  gathered  with  the  greatest  care, 
and  will  be  found  both  new  and  interesting. 

T.  M.  HARRIS. 


THE   ASSASSINATION   OF 
ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER    I. 

REJOICING     AT     THE      CLOSE     OF     THE     REBELLION,      AND 
SCENES    AT    THE    WHITE    HOUSE. 

APRIL  14,  1861,  the  American  flag  was  hauled  down 
from  Fort  Sumter  amid  the  rockings  of  the  Rebellion, 
and,  after  four  years  of  war  on  a  scale  of  astonishing 
vastness,  it  was  again  hoisted  over  the  crumbled  battle- 
ments, April  14,  1865,  and  throughout  the  land  loyal 
hearts  felt  a  thrill  of  exultation  at  the  thought  that  right- 
eousness had  finally  triumphed  on  the  very  spot  where 
the  first  open  onslaught  upon  the  Union  was  made.  That 
very  day  President  Lincoln  was  full  of  life  and  hope, 
laboring  with  a  cheerful  heart  for  the  public  welfare ;  and 
the  dark  clouds  of  rebellion,  which  during  his  whole 
administration  had  lowered  above,  were  just  beginning 
to  lift  and  give  assurance  that  the  stars  were  shining  be- 
yond. In  such  an  hour  of  hope  and  joy  the  fatal  blow 
of  the  assassin  was  struck.  The  President  had  returned 
to  Washington  in  the  River  Queen  the  evening  of  April  9, 
in  safety,  from  a  trip  to  the  front,  which  included  a  visit 
to  Richmond,  on  the  4th  of  April,  the  day  after  its 
evacuation,  with  the  full  confidence  that  the  blood  of  the 
nation  would  soon  stop  flowing,  and  that  the  remaining 
years  of  his  Presidency  would  be  years  of  comparative 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


THE   WHITE  HOUSE. 


quietude.  The  capital  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
fortified  with  the  utmost  care  and  skill,  defended  with  an 
army  equal  in  courage  and  skill  to  our  own,  fell,  and. 
without  pomp  or  military  escort,  the  President  entered 
it  and  walked  the  streets  from  which  the  Southern  army 
had  fled  forever.  Then  came  on  the  Qth  the  surrender 
of  the  Napoleon  of  the  Southern  army,  and  the  breeze 
from  the  South  land  wafted  to  the  North  the  first  breath 
of  returning  peace,  which  brought  forth  great  rejoicing. 
President  Lincoln  laid  aside  the  sword  of  battle,  and  in 
return  stretched  out  in  his  hand  the  olive  branch,  and 
his  great  heart  went  out  in  sympathy  for  the  defeated. 

General  Grant  arrived  at  Washington  on  the  i3th,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  proper  arrangements  for  the  dis- 
banding of  a  portion  of  the  immense  army  in  the  field. 
Robert  T.  Lincoln,  who  was  on  his  staff,  accompanied 
him.  In  January,  1865,  he  was  attached  to  the  staff  of 


REJOICING   AT   CLOSE   OF   REBELLION.  3 

General  Grant,  with  the  rank  of  captain,  at  the  special 
request  of  the  President,  and  the  appointment  pleased 
Mr.  Lincoln  very  much.  Robert  breakfasted  at  the 
White  House  on  the  morning  of  the  I4th,  and  the 
President  listened  with  much  interest  to  the  details 
of  the  campaign  that  had  just  terminated.  The  Cabinet 
held  a  meeting  at  eleven  o'clock,  at  which  General  Grant 
was  present.  This  was  the  last  time  the  President  met 
with  his  Cabinet,  and  it  was  a  most  important  and  satis- 
factory meeting.  The  restoration  of  that  portion  of  coun- 
try lately  in  rebellion  was  discussed,  and  with  one  voice 
it  was  agreed  to  restore  them  to  their  old  place  in  the 
sisterhood  of  States.  In  the  afternoon  the  President  had 
a  pleasant  interview  with  Governor  Richard  Oglesby  and 
Senator  Richard  Yates  of  Illinois,  and  other  prominent 
persons.  He  wrote — probably  his  last  letter — on  this 
date  to  General  James  H.  Van  Alen  of  New  York,  who 
had  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  not  to  expose  his  life  unneces- 
sarily, as  he  had  done  at  Richmond,  and  assuring  him 
of  the  earnest  desire  of  all  of  his  countrymen  to  close  the 
war  he  had  so  successfully  conducted.  "  I  intend,"  wrote 
Lincoln,  "  to  adopt  the  advice  of  my  friends,  and  use  pre- 
caution. I  thank  you  for  the  assurance  you  give  me  that 
I  shall  be  supported  by  conservative  men  like  yourself 
in  the  efforts  I  may  make  to  restore  the  Union,  so  as  to 
make  it,  to  use  your  own  language,  a  union  of  hearts  and 
hands  as  well  as  of  States."  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax  was 
one  of  the  early  callers  upon  the  President  that  day.  He 
contemplated  visiting  the  mining  regions  of  the  West. 
Mr.  Lincoln  conversed  with  him  for  an  hour,  saying: 
"  I  want  you  to  take  a  message  from  me  to  the  miners 
whom  you  visit.  I  have  very  large  ideas  of  the  mineral 
wealth  of  our  nation.  I  believe  it  practically  inexhausti- 
ble. It  exists  all  over  the  Western  country,  from  the 


4  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  and  its  development  has 
scarcely  commenced.  During  the  war,  when  we  were 
adding  a  couple  of  millions  of  dollars  every  day  to  our 
national  debt,  I  did  not  care  about  encouraging  the  in- 
crease in  the  volume  of  our  precious  metal.  We  had  the 
country  to  save  first.  But  now  that  the  rebellion  is  over- 
thrown, and  we  know  pretty  nearly  the  amount  of  our 
national  debt,  the  more  gold  and  silver  we  mine  makes 
the  payment  of  that  debt  so  much  the  easier.  Now,  I 
am  going  to  encourage  that  in  every  possible  way.  We 
shall  have  hundreds  of  thousands  of  disbanded  soldiers, 
and  "many  have  feared  that  their  return  home  in  such 
great  numbers  might  paralyze  industry  by  furnishing 
suddenly  a  greater  supply  of  labor  than  there  will  be  a  de- 
mand for.  I  am  going  to  try  to  attract  them  to  the 
hidden  wealth  of  our  mountain  ranges,  where  there  is 
room  enough  for  all.  Immigration,  which  even  the  war 
has  not  stopped,  will  land  upon  our  shores  hundreds  of 
thousands  more  per  year  from  overcrowded  Europe.  I 
intend  to  point  them  to  the  gold  and  silver  that  waits 
for  them  in  the  West.  Tell  the  miners,  from  me,  that 
I  shall  promote  their  interests  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability, 
because  their  prosperity  is  the  prosperity  of  the  nation; 
and  we  shall  prove,  in  a  very  few  years,  that  we  are, 
indeed,  the  treasury  of  the  world." 

During  the  afternoon  the  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln 
took  quite  an  extended  drive  through  the  city,  and  dur- 
ing the  time  he  was  in  a  cheerful  mood,  talking  of  the 
troubles  of  the  past  and  the  long  looked-for  pleasures  of 
the  future,  when  they  would  be  again  settled  at  Spring- 
field, 111.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  extremely  happy  in  the  events 
of  the  day  which  closed  his  mortal  career. 

President  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Colfax  sat  together  in  a 
room  at  the  White  House  at  8  o'clock  p.  M.,  engaged 


REJOICING   AT   CLOSE   OF   REBELLION.  5 

in  earnest  conversation,  when  Mrs.  Lincoln  entered  to 
remind  the  President  that  it  was  time  to  go  to  the 
theater.  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  had  left  the  city  that 
evening;  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  learning  of  their  departure, 
extended  an  invitation  to  Major  Henry  R.  Rathbone  and 
Miss  Clara  Harris  to  accompany  them,  which  was 
accepted. 

Mr.  Lincoln  gave  Mr.  George  Ashmun,  who  had 
called  to  see  him  just  as  he  was  leaving  for  the  theater, 
a  card  to  admit  himself  and  friend  early  the  next  morn- 
ing. This  was  the  last  bit  of  writing  that  the  President's 
hand  ever  traced. 

To  Mr.  Colfax  his  last  words  were:  "Do  not  forget 
to  tell  the  people  in  the  mining  regions,  as  you  pass 
through  them,  what  I  told  you  this  morning  about  the 
developments  when  peace  comes,  and  I  will  telegraph 
you  at  San  Francisco."  It  was  ten  minutes  after  eight 
o'clock  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  entered  their  car- 
riage, arriving  at  the  residence  of  Senator  Harris, 
corner  of  Fifteenth  and  H  streets,  the  present  site  of  the 
Columbian  University,  ten  minutes  later,  calling  for 
Major  Rathbone  and  Miss  Harris,  and  reaching  the 
theater  at  half-past  eight  o'clock. 

Through  a  great  desire  to  see  General  Grant,  who  was 
advertised  in  the  Evening  Star  to  attend  the  theater  with 
the  President,  many  persons  purchased  tickets  for  that 
occasion.  The  President  was  a  familiar  figure  to  many, 
consequently  his  presence  did  not  create  quite  the  desire 
to  see  him  as  did  that  of  the  man  who  caused  the  curtain 
to  drop  upon  the  closing  scene  of  the  great  civil  war 
drama.  General  and  Mrs.  Grant,  however,  left  Wash- 
ington for  Burlington,  N.  J.,  at  six  o'clock  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  I4th,  to  visit  their  children;  but  upon  learning 
of  the  assassination  of  the  President,  General  Grant  re- 


6  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

turned  to  Washington,  leaving  Burlington  at  the  same 
hour  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th.  His  sudden  departure 
from  the  capital  undoubtedly  defeated  one  of  the  plans 
of  the  conspirators,  and  spared  the  country  the  horror  of 
a  double  tragedy. 

From  the  moment  the  President  entered  the  theater 
he  saw  nothing  to  indicate  that  he  was  not  as  secure  as 
any  one  of  the  audience  around  him,  and  no  one  in  that 
vast  assembly  dreamed  that  there  was  any  murderous 
agency  lurking  there.  The  brilliant  lights  shone  upon 
the  happy  face  of  the  President,  and  the  sweet  music  and 
ringing  cheers  of  the  audience  were  the  joyous  evidences 
of  a  preserved  Union  and  a  new  national  life. 

Lincoln,  followed  by  the  huzzas  of  the  whole  theater 
rising  and  cheering,  stopped  in  the  door  of  that  fatal  box, 
and  returned  the  acclamations  with  his  benignant  bow 
and  smile! 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   ASSASSINATION. 

•  THE  night  of  April  14,  1865,  was  to  witness  the  cul- 
mination of  a  conspiracy  which  had  its  inception  at  the 
time  of  the  first  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln.  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  an  actor,  was  now  its  foremost  local 
leader  and  figure.  But,  of  all  this,  more  anon. 

Now  let  us  step  down  to  Ford's  Theater  on  Tenth 
Street  N.  W.,  between  E  and  F,  then  owned  by  John  T. 
Ford.  The  building  is  a  plain  brick  structure,  three 
stories  high,  seventy-one  feet  front  and  one  hundred  feet 
deep.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  it  was  converted  into 
a  theater,  having  previously  been  a  Baptist  church,  but 
was  never  used  as  a  theater  after  the  assassination.  The 
company  attempted  to  open  the  theater  some  time  after- 
ward, with  the  "  Octoroon,"  as  advertised  on  the  play 
bill,  but  the  Government  prohibited  its  further  use  as 
a  theater,  and,  upon  legal  proceedings  being  threatened, 
the  following  bill  was  passed  by  Congress:  "  For  the 
purchase  of  the  property  in  Washington  City  known  as 
Ford's  Theater,  for  the  deposit  and  safe-keeping  of  docu- 
mentary papers  relating  to  the  s61diers  of  the  Army  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  Museum  of  the  Medical  and 
Surgical  Departments  of  the  Army,  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars."  When  the  Government  took  possession  of 
it,  the  interior  was  torn  out,  converting  it  into  three 
floors,  and  it  was  first  used  for  the  Medical  Museum.  It 
is  used  at  the  present  time  by  the  Record  and  Pension 
Division  of  the  War  Department.  June  9,  1893,  the  day 


FORD'S    THEATER. 

Door  No.  i  was  the  entrance  to  the  gallery. 

No.  2,  President  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  Booth  entered. 

No.  3  and  4  were  open  in  mild  weather,  but  in  April  were  closed  as 
means  of  entrance,  and  only  used  for  exits  after  the  performance. 

No.  5  was  used  for  exit  only,  as  the  stairway  leading  to  the  dress  circle 
was  located  there. 

Across  the  lobby  from  the  point  where  the  two  ladies  are  walking  on  the 
sidewalk  was  an  iron  railing  where  the  doorkeeper  took  the  tickets  for 
both  down-  (orchestra  and  dress  circle)  and  upstairs  (dress  circle).  Mr. 
Lincoln  and  Booth,  to  get  to  the  private  box  after  going  in  No.  2  door,  went 
along  the  lower  lobby  northwardly,  then  up  the  stairway,  then  along  the 
upper  lobby  southwardly,  and  down  the  aisle  easterly  to  the  private  box. 
The  box  office  was  located  between  the  doors  No.  i  and  2,  marked  F.  It 
had  a  ticket  window  facing  north  for  the  best  parts  of  the  house  and  facing 
south  for  the  gallery ;  also  a  window  facing  east,  looking  into  the  audi- 
torium. 

A  was  a  restaurant ;  B  a  reception  room,  with  a  door  leading  into  dress 
circle,  from  which  some  of  the  furniture  was  removed  to  the  private  box  for 
that  occasion.  C  was  H.  Clay  Ford's  sleeping  room.  D  was  a  saloon. 

NOTE.— The  author  is  indebted  to  H-  Clay  Ford  for  this  description  of 
the  theater. 


THE   ASSASSINATION. 


that  Edwin  Booth  was  buried  at  Boston,  the  three  floors 
collapsed  during  repairs  of  the  building,  pouring  into 
the  basement  over  a  hundred  men,  chairs,  desks,  file- 
cases,  etc.,  killing  twenty-two  men  and  injuring  sixty- 


LAURA   KEENE. 


Laura  Keene  played  Florence  Trenchard  in  "  Our  American  Cousin  "  at 
Ford's  Theater  on  the  night  of  the  assassination. 

eight.  There  is  no  trace  of  the  interior  of  the  theater 
left,  it  having  been  remodeled  for  the  use  of  the  Govern- 
ment. 

The  play  on  the  boards  at  Ford's  Theater  upon  the 


10 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


night  of  the  I4th  of  April,  1865,  was  "  Our  American 
Cousin,"  by  Tom  Taylor.  Laura  Keene  was  the  star, 
she  having  performed  in  this  play  over  one  thousand 


FORD'S  THEATRE 


Friday  Evening.  April  14th   1806 


MB-  JOHN  DTOTT 
M> 
MB.  HABBT  RA.WK. 


UUB  AMERICAN 


nights,  and  this  was  to  have  been 
her  last  night  and  benefit.  As  a 
reminiscence  it  may  be  recalled 
that  a  number  of  the  delegates,  the 
evening  of  the  close  of  the  Repub- 
lican Convention  at  Chicago,  May, 
1860,  attended  this  play  with  Laura 
Keene  in  the  cast  at  McVicker's 
Theater.  The  portrait  of  Lincoln 
was  displayed  on  canvas  at  the 
time,  as  the  nominee  of  the  con- 
vention. 

The  mail  delivery  of  the  morning 
of  April  14  had  brought  to  Ford's 
Theater  several  letters  for  John 
Wilkes  Booth.  It  was  his  custom 
to  have  his  mail  addressed  to  him 
there.  At  half-past  eleven  he 
leisurely  walked  up  to  the  theater, 
after  a  late  breakfast  at  the  Na- 
tional Hotel,  and  pleasantly  sa- 
luted a  group  of  young  men  stand- 
ing in  front,  several  of  them  being 
connected  with  the  theater.  He 
took  the  letters  that  were  handed 
him,  seating  himself  on  one  of  the 
^or  sills  to  carefully  peruse  them, 
after  which  he  placed  them  in  his 
pocket,  and  entered  into  conversation  with  those  sur- 
rounding him.  The  surrender  of  Lee's  army  was  the 
all-absorbing  topic  in  those  days,  and  Harry  Ford,  know- 


BWUSKlTofMut  JENNIE  GODR1JLI 


PLAY  BILL  USED  AT  FORD'S 
THEATER  ON  THE  NIGHff 
OF  THE  ASSASSINATION. 


THE   ASSASSINATION,  II 

ing  Booth's  feelings  toward  the  South,  said,  in  a  joking 
manner:  "  John,  the  President  has  the  State  box  to-night, 
and  is  coming  with  General  Grant  to  see  the  play,  and 
possibly  General  Lee  will  also  be  with  them."  He 
started  at  this,  and  said  immediately:  "  Never!  Lee 
would  not  let  himself  be  used  as  Romans  used  their  cap- 
tives, and  be  paraded."  Ford's  reply  was:  "Oh,  no!  I 
was  only  joking." 

From  that  moment  Booth's  manner  underwent  an  en- 
tire change;  he  became  quiet  and  abstracted,  as  if  some 
dark  thought  was  in  his  brain,  and  very  soon  left  the 
crowd,  going  down  Tenth  Street,  and  walked  hurriedly 
up  E  Street  to  the  Kirkwood  House,  now  the  Raleigh, 
corner  Twelfth  Street  and  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  This 
was  the  first  knowledge  that  Booth  had  of  the  intended 
visit  of  the  President  to  the  theater  that  evening. 

Mr.  James  R.  Ford,  business  manager  of  the  theater, 
was  in  the  box  office  when  the  messenger  came  from  the 
White  House  at  half-past  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  I4th  to  secure  a  box  for  the  President,  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
and  General  and  Mrs.  Grant.  The  two  latter  had  ac- 
cepted that  morning  an  invitation  from  the  President  to 
accompany  him  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  to  the  theater.  The 
President  had  been  previously  invited  to  the  theater  that 
night,  but  they  had  no  knowledge  there  of  his  intended 
visit  until  the  reception  of  the  message  at  half-past  ten 
o'clock  that  day. 

Mr.  Henry  Clay  Ford  superintended  the  decorations 
of  the  President's  box.  He  secured  two  flags,  which  he 
looped  up,  and  placed  a  silk  one  that  he  borrowed  from 
the  Treasury  Department  in  the  center.  He  had  some 
of  the  furniture  taken  out  of  the  box,  a  sofa  and  high- 
backed  chair  brought  from  the  stage,  and  a  rocking- 
chair  brought  from  his  sleeping  room  and  placed  in  the 


12  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

box.  The  rocking-chair  had  not  been"  in  the  box  during 
the  season  until  that  night;  it  was  placed  nearest  the 
audience,  and  was  to  be  occupied  by  the  President.  Ed- 


THE   DAMASK-BACK   ROCKING-CHAIR 

In  which  the  President  was  sitting  when  shot.    It  was  placed  in  the  box 
that  night  for  the  first  time  in  over  a  year. 

ward  Spangler,  who  assisted  in  preparing  the  box  for 
the  Presidential  party,  it  is  believed  bored  the  hole  in 
the  door,  loosened  the  screws  to  the  latches,  and  pre- 
pared the  piece  of  wood  with  which  to  bar  the  door 
through  which  Booth  entered. 

The  notice  that  the  President  and  General  Grant  would 
be  at  the  theater  was  written  by  Mr.  James  R.  Ford, 


THE   ASSASSINATION.  13 

and  sent  to  the  Evening  Star,  which  appeared  about  two 
o'clock. 

When  Booth  reached  the  Kirkwood  House  he  wrote 
the  following  on  a  card: 

For  Mr.  ANDREW  JOHNSON: 

Don't  wish  to  disturb  you;  are  you  at  home? 

J.  W.  BOOTH. 

The  card  was  sent  to  the  room  of  Vice-President 
Andrew  Johnson,  but  he  not  being  in,  the  messenger 
returned  the  note  to  the  office  of  the  hotel,  where  it  was 
supposed  to  have  been  placed  in  the  Vice-President's 
box;  but,  instead,  it  was  put  in  the  box  adjoining — 
that  of  his  private  secretary.  The  object  of  this  note  is 
not  known,  but  the  theories  are  that  Booth  wanted  to 
obtain  a  view  of  the  Vice-President's  room,  by  which  he 
could  direct  Atzerodt;  or  expected  to  receive  an  invita- 
tion from  him  to  call,  which  would  cast  suspicion  upon 
Mr.  Johnson,  and  probably  implicate  him  in  the  as- 
sassination of  the  President. 

After  his  visit  to  the  hotel  Booth  emerged  into  the 
busy  throng  on  the  sidewalk,  and  was  lost  sight  of. 
The  afternoon  no  doubt  was  spent  in  planning  with  the 
other  members  of  the  conspiracy,  and  arranging  their 
share  in  the  intended  assassinations.  He  was  seen  on 
horseback  late  in  the  afternoon,  inquiring  for  David 
Herold,  whom  he  needed  very  much,  for  he  was  to  have 
been  his  escort  through  southern  Maryland. 

Mr.  James  W.  Pumphrey,  now  living,  who  kept  a 
livery  stable  on  C  Street,  in  the  rear  of  the  National 
Hotel,  gives  the  details  of  Booth's  visit  to  his  stable :  "  He 
came  to  my  stable  about  one  o'clock  on  the  I4th  of 
April,  1865,  and  engaged  a  saddle  horse,  which  he  said 
he  wanted  about  four  or  half-past  four  o'clock  of  that 


14  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

day.  He  had  been  in  the  habit  of  riding  a  sorrel  horse, 
and  he  came  to  get  it,  but  that  horse  was  engaged,  and 
I  gave  him  instead  a  small  bay  mare,  about  fourteen 
hands  high.  He  asked  me  to  give  him  a  tie  rein  with 
which  to  hitch  the  horse,  but  I  told  him  she  was  in  the 
habit  of  breaking  the  bridle,  and  not  to  hitch  her;  but 
he  insisted  on  having  one,  for  he  said  he  wanted  to  tie 
her  while  he  stopped  at  a  restaurant  to  get  a  drink.  I 
told  him  to  get  a  boy  at  the  restaurant  to  hold  her.  He 
said  he  could  not  get  a  boy.  He  then  said,  '  I  am  going 
to  Grover's  Theater  [National]  to  write  a  letter,  and 
there  is  no  use  of  tying  her  there,  as  there  is  a  stable  in 
the  back  part  of  the  alley,  and  I  will  put  her  there.'  He 
then  asked  me  where  was  the  best  place  to  take  a  ride. 
I  told  him :  '  You  have  been  around  here  some  time  and 
ought  to  be  familiar  with  the  drives.'  He  said,  '  How 
is  Crystal  Springs?'  'A  very  good  place,'  I  said,  'but 
it  is  rather  early  for  it.'  '  Well,'  said  he,  '  I  will  go  there 
after  I  get  though  writing  a  letter  at  Grover's  Theater.' 
He  rode  off,  and  I  never  saw  Booth  or  my  horse  since." 

Booth  put  the  horse  in  his  stable  in  the  rear  of  Ford's 
Theater,  and  afterward  was  seen  by  his  friends,  and  to 
them  he  seemed  lively,  chatting  in  a  familiar  way  and 
taking  a  social  glass  with  them  in  their  accustomed 
haunts.  To  all  of  these  he  appeared  light-hearted,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  he  suffered  great  anxiety  through 
that  afternoon,  for  the  great  responsibility  of  the  suc- 
cessful murder  of  the  President,  the  perfecting  of  the 
plans  in  all  the  little  details  to  insure  not  only  his  own 
success  and  escape,  but  that  of  his  assistants,  was  his;  but 
for  all  that,  he  presented  a  bold  front  when  meeting  his 
friends,  and  kept  to  himself  his  awful  secret. 

When  Booth  handed  his  key  to  the  clerk  of  the  Na- 
tional Hotel  on  the  evening  of  the  assassination,  he  asked 


THE  ASSASSINATtDN.  1$ 

him :  "  Are  you  going  down  to  Ford's  Theater  to- 
night?" The  clerk  answered,  "  No."  Booth  replied  by 
saying:  "  You  ought  to  go;  there  is  to  be  some  splendid 
acting  there  to-night." 

A  few  minutes  after  nine  o'clock  Booth  led  his  horse 
from  his  stable  to  the  back  door  of  the  theater.  The 
stable  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  alley,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the  rear  of  the 
theater. 

James  L.  Mattox,  property  man  at  the  theater,  seemed 
to  have  been  Booth's  agent,  for  he  rented  the  stable  from 
Mrs.  Davis  in  December,  1864,  and  Booth  always  gave 
him  the  rent  to  be  paid  to  Mrs.  Davis.  When  Booth 
sold  his  horse  and  buggy,  he  still  retained  the  stable,  and 
so  it  was  available  to  shelter  his  hired  horse  that  day. 
When  he  reached  the  rear  of  the  theater  he  called  out, 
"Ned!"  and  Spangler  appeared.  Booth  asked  him  if 
he  would  help  him,  and  Spangler  said,  "  Yes."  Booth 
stepped  in  the  back  door  of  the  building,  went  under  the 
stage  to  the  opposite  side,  and  out  of  the  side  door  to  the 
front. 

As  soon  as  Booth  disappeared  Spangler  called  for 
Joseph  Burroughs,  alias  "  Peanuts,"  and  turned  the 
horse  over  to  him,  saying:  "  Hold  it,  and  if  there  is  any- 
thing wrong,  lay  the  blame  on  me."  So  the  boy  held 
the  horse.  Spangler  and  Burroughs  were  in  charge  of 
Booth's  stable,  and  had  cared  for  his  horse  and  buggy. 
Burroughs'  duties  at  the  theater  were  to  carry  bills  and 
stand  at  the  stage  door  at  night  to  keep  out  intruders 
and  strangers.  Harry  Ford  during  the  afternoon  or- 
dered Burroughs  to  assist  Spangler  to  take  out  the  par- 
tition of  the  box,  and  while  there  Spangler  said:  "  Damn 
the  President  and  General  Grant !  "  Burroughs  replied : 
"  What  are  you  damning  the  man  for — a  man  that  has 


l6  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

never  done  harm  to  you?"  Spangler  retorted:  "He 
ought  to  be  cursed,  when  he  got  so  many  men  killed." 

Booth  was  seen  sauntering  up  and  down  the  pave- 
ment, and  at  ten  minutes  past  ten  he  stepped  into 
an  adjoining  saloon  on  the  south  side  and  called  for 
brandy.  This  would  blunt  his  sensibilities,  steady  his 
nerves,  and  make  him  feel  like  a  hero,  ready  to  rid  the 
country  of  a  tyrant  and  immortalize  his  name.  After 
paying  for  his  drink  he  walked  out  and  entered  the 
theater  lobby,  asking  Mr.  John  E.  Buckingham,  the 
night  doorkeeper,  the  time,  after  which  he  ascended  the 
stairs  and  passed  around  the  dress  circle  to  the  door 
leading  into  the  President's  box.  Booth  had  free  access 
to  the  theater  by  all  the  entrances,  just  as  one  of  the  em- 
ployees. When  he  reached  the  door  of  the  passageway 
leading  to  the  box,  he  stopped  and,  probably  to  avoid 
attracting  attention,  made  a  leisurely  survey  of  the  house, 
and  possibly  waiting  for  the  progress  of  the  play  to  a 
situation  when  the  stage  would  be  more  nearly  clear  for 
his  intended  purpose.  Thus,  he  bided  his  time,  and  he 
had  time  enough. 

It  has  been  said  that  before  Booth  went  into  the  Presi- 
dent's box  he  handed  his  card  to  an  attendant  of  the 
President  who  was  on  guard,  but  this  assertion  is  not 
supported  by  any  testimony  that  was  made  public  during 
the  trial.  After  entering  the  passageway  he  took  a  bar 
of  wood  that  had  been  prepared  for  the  purpose  during 
the  afternoon,  and  placed  one  end  of  it  in  an  indentation 
in  the  wall  and  the  other  against  the  door,  making  it  im- 
possible for  anyone  to  enter  from  without.  The  stick  or 
bar  was  three  feet  six  inches  long.  The  mortise  in  the 
plaster  looked  as  though  it  had  been  recently  made,  and 
had  the  appearance  of  having  been  done  with  a  knife. 

There  were  two  doors  leading  into  the  box  from  the 


THE   ASSASSINATION.  I/ 

passage,  and  the  box  was  divided  by  a  partition,  one 
door  entering  each  compartment.  When  the  President 
attended  the  theater  the  partition  was  removed,  making 
the  box  into  one.  These  two  doors  were  generally 
locked  when  the  President  occupied  the  box;  but  upon 
this  occasion  they  were  not,  and  no  one  connected  with 
the  theater  could  ever  explain  why  they  were  left  in  that 
condition  on  that  night.  Upon  examination  after  the  as- 
sassination the  screws  of  the  locks  to  both  doors  were 
found  to  be  loosened,  so  that,  if  they  had  been  locked, 
a  very  little  push  would  have  opened  them.  The  farthest 
door  from  the  audience  had  a  hole  bored  in  it — probably 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  assassin,  to  look  through 
in  order  to  get  a  view  of  the  position  of  the  President. 
Upon  a  careful  examination  of  the  hole  the  next  day, 
it  had  the  appearance  of  being  bored  with  a  gimlet,  and 
then  reamed  round  the  edge  with  a  knife.  In  several 
places  it  was  scratched  down,  as  if  the  knife  had  slipped. 
The  door  being  unlocked,  Booth  sneaked  in  behind  the 
President,  and,  at  twenty  minutes  past  ten  o'clock,  fired 
a  bullet  into  the  brain  that  had  so  recently  acted  with 
such  magnanimity  toward  the  nation's  enemies.  The 
assassin  called  this  man  a  tyrant  before  he  fired  the  fatal 
bullet. 

"  The  songs  of  joy  ran  o'er  the  land  like  fire, 

All  hearts  exultant  leaped  with  wild  delight; 
We  saw  the  dawn  of  Peace  gild  every  spire, 
And  with  thanksgiving  hailed  the  holy  sight. 

"  But  in  an  instant  all  the  joy  was  gone! 

Gloom  clothed  the  earth,  and  darkness  filled  the  skies' 
The  assassin  had  shot  down  the  gentlest  man 
That  ever  ruled  a  nation's  destinies." 

All  eyes  in  the  audience  were  turned  to  the  stage, 
intent  upon  the  closing  of  the  second  scene  in  the  third 
act  of  the  play,  and  did  not  realize  what  was  happening 


i8 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


in  the  President's  box.  The  instant  the  report  of  the 
pistol  was  heard,  Major  Rathbone  sprang  up  and  grap- 
pled Booth,  but  was  thrust  aside,  receiving  several 
vslashes  of  the  assassin's  knife  in  his  arm.  Rathbone  made 


BOOTH  IN  THE  ACT  OF  LEAPING  OUT  OF  THE  BOX  TO  THE  STAGE,  AFTER 
SHOOTING  THE  PRESIDENT. 

His  spur  caught  in  the  flag  that  was  draped  in  front  of  the  box. 

the  second  attempt  to  grasp  him,  but  was  too  late,  for 
Booth  laid  his  right  hand  upon  the  railing  and  vaulted 
out  upon  the  stage.  He  had  dropped  his  Derringer  in  the 
box  during  the  scuffle,  but  retained  the  knife  in  his  right 
hand.  As  his  legs  passed  between  the  folds  of  the  flag 
decorating  the  box,  his  spur,  which  he  still  wore  upon  his 
heel,  caught  in  the  flag.  Falling  on  his  knee,  'he  put 
forth  both  hands  to  help  himself  to  recover  an  erect  posi- 


THE   ASSASSINATION. 


THE   FLAG,   DRAPED  IN  THE   PRESIDENT'S   BOX,    IN    WHICH    BOOTH 
CAUGHT  HIS  SPUR. 


tion,  which  he  did  with  the  rapidity  of  an  athlete.  He 
alighted  in  a  crouching  position,  like  one  who  had 
brought  his  body  down  to  break  the  shock  of  the  fall. 
C?esar  saiv  Brutus  stab.  Lincoln  never  saw,  thank  God ! 
his  death  shot,  or  knew  what  or  who  did  the  deed. 

The  leap  from  the  President's  box  upon  the  stage  was 
not  a  difficult  one  for  Booth  to  make,  for  he  had  made 
similar  leaps,  which  he  had  introduced  into  the  play  of 
"  Macbeth."  There  was  no  necessity  for  a  rehearsal,  as 
he  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  great  gymnast,- and  he 
probably  would  have  made  a  perfect  leap  had  it  not  been 
for  the  flag.  The  distance  from  the  box  to  the  stage  was 
nine  feet,  and  the  inanimate  flag  became  animate  in  its 
vengeance  upon  the  assassin,  and,  turning  him  from  his 
true  course,  he  fell  upon  the  stage,  breaking  the  fibula 
bone  of  his  left  leg. 


2O  ASSASSINATION  OF-  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  following  is  the  testimony  of  William  Withers,  Jr., 
leader  of  the  orchestra  at  the  theater  that  evening:  "  I 
was  leader  of  the  orchestra  at  the  time,  and  as  the  Presi- 
dent was  to  witness  the  performance,  I  thought  that  as 
befitting  the  occasion  I  would  compose  a  song,  which  I 
did.  It  was  entitled,  '  Honor  to  Our  Soldiers/  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  President: 

"  '  Honor  to  our  soldiers, 

Our  nation's  greatest  pride, 
Who,  'neath  our  starry  banner's  folds, 

Have  fought  and  bled  and  died  ; 
They're  nature's  noblest  handiwork — 

No  king  as  proud  as  they; 
God  bless  the  heroes  of  the  land, 

And  cheer  them  on  their  way.'* 

This  was  to  be  sung  between  two  of  the  acts  by  a  quartet 
I  had  engaged,  and  the  entire  company,  who  were  to  be 
attired  in  the  American  colors. 

"  After  the  first  act  J.  P.  Wright,  the  stage  manager, 
sent  me  word  he  would  be  unable  to  have  the  special 
song  sung  at  that  time,  but  would  try  to  have  it  rendered 
between  the  second  and  third  acts.  A  similar  message 
was  sent  me  at  the  close  of  the  second  act,  and  I  became 
somewhat  exercised. 

"  When  the  President  entered  the  theater,  I  signaled 
for  '  Hail  to  the  Chief.'  The  audience  caught  sight  of 
him,  and,  rising  as  a  body,  they  cheered  again  and  again. 
As  the  President  entered  the  box  he  turned  smilingly  to 
the  audience  and  bowed. 

"  A  few  minutes  after  ten  o'clock  I  started  to  go  upon 
the  stage,  when  I  saw  Booth  in  the  balcony,  walking 
down  the  aisle  in  the  direction  of  the  President's  box. 

*  Words  by  H.  B.  Phillips;  music  composed  and  arranged  by 
Professor  William  Withers,  Jr. 


THE   ASSASSINATION.  21 

I  did  not  think  strange  of  this,  as  Booth  was  a  frequent 
visitor  to  the  building,  and  his  appearance  at  this  time 
created  no  suspicion  whatever.  He  was  seemingly  at- 
tentive toward  the  acting,  for  the  curtain  had  again 
gone  up. 

"  I  encountered  a  scene  shifter,  Spangler,  whose  office 
I  afterward  learned  was  to  turn  out  the  lights  in  the 
theater  as  soon  as  the  shot  was  fired.  He  obstructed 
my  passage,  and  remarked:  'What  do  you  want  here?' 
In  reply  I  told  him  it  was  none  of  his  business!  Mr. 
Wright  appearing,  Spangler  left  his  position  on  the  stage 
alongside  the  box  in  which  was  the  apparatus  for  illumi- 
nating the  theater.  I  closed  the  lid  of  the  box,  and  sat 
upon  it  to  talk  to  the  manager,  unconscious  that  I  was 
spoiling  the  plan  of  the  conspirators  as  to  turning  out  all 
the  lights! 

"  Mr.  Wright  told  me  the  song  would  be  sung  at  the 
close  of  the  performance,  and  Laura  Keene  had  sent 
word  to  the  President  requesting  him  to  stay  and  hear  it. 
I  was  just  about  to  return  to  the  orchestra  when  the 
crack  of  a  revolver  startled  me.  All  was  quiet  instantly. 
I  saw  a  man  jump  from  the  President's  box  on  to  the 
stage.  He  ran  directly  toward  the  aisle  leading  to  the 
back  door.  This  course  brought  him  right  in  my  path- 
way. He  had  a  dagger  in  his  hand,  and  he  waved  it 
threateningly.  He  slashed  at  me,  and  the  knife  cut 
through  my  coat,  vest,  and  underclothing.  He  struck 
again,  the  point  of  the  weapon  penetrating  the  back  of 
my  neck,  and  the  blow  brought  me  to  the  floor.  I  recog- 
nized him  as  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  and  watched  him  make 
his  exit  into  the  alley." 

Booth  was  hot  with  cruelty,  and  as  he  grasped  the 
reins  from  the  patient,  simple  boy,  Joseph  Burroughs, 
he  felled  him  to  the  pavement  with  the  butt  of  his  knife. 


22 


ASSASSINATION    OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


He  was  enacting  tragedy  from  the  President's  box  to 
the  rear  of  the  theater. 

There  has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  relative  to 
the  Latin  words,  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis  "  ("  Thus  always 
with  tyrants "),  the  motto  of  Virginia,  as  quoted  by 
Booth.  Some  persons  who  were  present  at  the  time 
maintain  that  Booth  used  them  in  the  box,  while  others 
positively  claim  that  he  made  use  of  the  words  while  on 
the  stage.  Booth  in  his  diary  says  that  he  uttered  them 
before  he  fired  the  shot.  How  false  and  foolish  were  the 
words  of  the  murderer — as  words  were  never  more 
falsely  exclaimed  nor  more  unjustly  applied  than  these! 

-Major  Rathbone  gives  a  clear  and  authentic  statement 
of  the  scene  in  the  box: 


BOOTH    CROSSING    THE    STAGE    AFTER    LEAPING    FROM    THE   BOX. 


THE  ASSASSINATION.  23 

"  When  the  party  entered  the  box,  a  cushioned  arm- 
chair (rocking-chair)  was  standing  farthest  from  the 
stage  and  nearest  the  audience.  This  was  also  the  near- 
est point  to  the  door  by  which  the  box  is  entered.  The 
President  seated  himself  in  this  chair,  and,  except  that 
he  once  left  the  chair  for  the  purpose  of  putting  on  his 


SPUR  WORN  BY  BOOTH. 


When  he  leaped  from  the  box  to  the  stage  it  caught  in  the  flag,   which 
caused  him  to  fall  and  break  his  leg. 

overcoat,  remained  so  seated  until  he  was  shot.  Mrs. 
Lincoln  was  seated  in  a  chair  between  the  President  and 
the  pillar  in  the  center  of  the  box. 

"  At  the  opposite  end  of  the  box,  that  nearest  the 
stage,  were  two  chairs.  In  one  of  these,  standing  in  the 
corner,  Miss  Harris  was  seated.  At  her  left  hand,  and 
along  the  wall  running  from  that  end  of  the  box  to  the 
rear,  stood  a  small  sofa.  At  the  end  of  this  sofa,  next  to 
Miss  Harris,  I  was  seated.  The  distance  between  the 
sofa  and  the  President  was  about  seven  or  eight  feet. 
The  distance  between  where  the  President  sat  and  the 
door  was  about  four  or  five  feet. 

"  When  the  second  scene  of  the  third  act  was  being 
performed,  I  was  intently  observing  the  proceedings 
upon  the  stage,  with  my  back  toward  the  door,  when  I 


24  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

heard  the  discharge  of  a  pistol  behind  me,  and,  looking 
around,  saw,  through  the  smoke,  a  man  between  the  door 
and  the  President.  I  instantly  sprang  toward  him  and 
seized  him.  He  wrested  himself  from  my  grasp  and 
made  a  violent  thrust  at  my  breast  with  a  large  knife. 
I  parried  the  blow  by  striking  it  up,  and  received  a 
wound  several  inches  deep  in  my  left  arm  between  the 
elbow  and  the  shoulder.  The  orifice  of  the  wound  was 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  and  extended  upward 
toward  the  shoulder  several  inches. 

"  The  man  rushed  to  the  front  of  the  box,  and  I  en- 
deavored to  seize  him  again,  but  only  caught  his  clothes 
as.  he  was  leaping  over  the  railing  of  the  box.  As  he 
went  over  upon  the  stage  I  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  '  Stop 
that  man ! '  I  then  turned  to  the  President.  His  posi- 
tion was  not  changed.  His  head  was  slightly  bent  for- 
ward and  his  eyes  were  closed.  I  saw  that  he  was  un- 
conscious, and,  supposing  him  mortally  wounded,  rushed 
to  the  door  for  the  purpose  of  calling  medical  aid.  On 
reaching  the  outer  door  of  the  passageway  I  found  it 
barred  by  a  piece  of  plank,  one  end  of  which  was  se- 
cured in  the  wall  and  the  other  rested  against  the  door. 
This  wedge  or  bar  was  about  four  feet  from  the  floor. 
Persons  upon  the  outside  were  beating  against  the  door 
for  the  purpose  of  entering.  When  the  bar  was  removed 
and  the  door  was  opened,  several  persons  representing 
themselves  to  be  surgeons  entered." 

The  audience  seemed  stunned  for  an  instant,  no  one 
realizing  what  had  happened.  It  was  all  the  work  of  a 
moment.  The  people  were  intent  upon  the  stage,  wait- 
ing for  the  appearance  of  some  favorite.  Even  when  the 
report  of  a  pistol  was  heard  and  the  assassin's  leap  seen 
from  the  box  to  the  stage,  there  were  many  who  thought 
it  all  a  part  of  the  programme. 


W      S 


LIBRARY 

OF  1HE 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


THE  ASSASSINATION.  2? 

The  screams  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  first  disclosed  to  the 
audience  the  fact  that  the  President  was  shot.  Then  the 
excitement  was  of  the  wildest  nature.  The  people  surged 
to  and  fro  in  frantic  excitement,  not  knowing-  what  to  do 
or  where  to  go,  but  under  the  influence  of  a  few  cool 
heads  the  audience  was  quieted  and  the  theater  vacated 
for  the  last  time. 

Booth  had  visited  Grover's  Theater  on  the  day  before 
the  assassination,  and  asked  Mr.  C.  D.  Hess,  the  man- 
ager, "Do  you  intend  to,"  or  "Are  you  going  to  invite  the 
President?"  Mr.  Hess  replied,  "  Yes;  that  reminds  me; 
I  must  send  that  invitation."  Mr.  Hess  intended  to  send 
his  invitation  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  but  had  neglected  to  do 
so  until  reminded  of  it  by  Booth's  call.  The  invitation 
was  sent,  and  little  "  Tad "  (Thomas)  was  present, 
representing  the  White  House.  When  he  heard  from 
the  stage  the  announcement  of  the  assassination  of  his 
father,  he  shrieked  and  sobbed  in  a  heart-rending  man- 
ner. He  was  immediately  taken  to  the  White  House. 

Joseph  B.  Stewart,  an  attorney-at-law  residing  in 
Washington,  was  sitting  in  the  front  seat  of  the  orchestra, 
on  the  right-hand  side.  When  he  heard  the  report  of  a 
pistol  he  was  startled,  and  in  looking  up  saw  a  man  leap 
from  the  President's  box.  At  the  same  instant  he 
jumped  on  the  stage,  ran  across,  following  the  man  as 
he  disappeared  at  the  left-hand  entrance.  Mr.  Stewart 
called  out,  "Stop  that  man!"  several  times.  When  he 
neared  the  back  door  it  slammed  shut,  and,  it  being  dark, 
he  put  his  hand  on  the  wrong  side  of  it,  after  which  he 
caught  the  knob  on  the  other  side  and  opened  it,  step- 
ping out  just  in  time  to  see  the  man  mounting  a  horse, 
which  soon  carried  its  rider  out  on  F  Street. 

Harry  Hawk,  as  Asa  Trcnchard,  held  the  stage  at  the 
moment  Mr.  Lincoln  was  shot.  The  second  scene  of  the 


28 


THE  ASSASSINATION. 


third  act  was  drawing  to  a  close.  In  a  personal  inter- 
view with  Mr.  Hawk  he  described  the  scene  upon  the 
stage:  "Mrs.  Muzzey,  in  the  role  of  Airs.  Mountchcsington, 
having  just  discovered  that  Asa  Trcnchard — my  part — 
was  not  the  man  of  wealth  she  supposed,  had  turned  an- 
grily to  her  daughter  Georgina,  the  part  taken  by  May 
Hart,  saying:  'Go  to  your  room;  you  may  go  to  your 
room  at  once!  '  Then,  turning  to  me,  she  said:  '  Sir,  it 
is  plain  to  be  seen  you  are  not  accustomed  to  manners 
of  good  society.'  Then  she  turned  haughtily  and  made 
her  exit  on  the  left,  leaving  me  alone,  and  looking  after 
her.  My  lines  were:  '  Society,  eh?  Well,  I  guess  I  know 
enough  to  turn  you  inside  out,  old  woman,  you  darned 
old  sockdologing  man-trap!  '  I  was  looking  up  at  the 
President's  box  as  I  repeated  the  lines,  and  the  words  had 
barely  left  my  lips  and  the  shouts  of  laughter  were 
ringing,  when  the  shot  sounded  through  the  house." 

The  last  words  that  President  Lincoln  ever  heard  were 
probably  those  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  Harry  Hawk. 


The  assassin's  view,  in  his  flight,  of  the  murdered  Lincoln.    The  tree 
under  which  the  victim  stands  contains  numerous  portraits  of  him. 


CHAPTER    III. 

DEATH    OF    THE    PRESIDENT,     AND    THE    TAKING    OF    THE 
OATH    OF   OFFICE    OF    HIS    SUCCESSOR. 

THE  first  shock  of  the  tragedy  had  hardly  abated  when 
there  was  an  almost  spontaneous  call  for  and  impulse  to 
render  aid  to  the  President,  especially  by  the  medical 
profession  present. 

Dr.  Charles  Taft  gives  his  recollections  of  that  event- 
ful night  in  a  letter  to  the  author,  dated  March  i,  1900: 
"  I  was  in  the  theater  when  Mr.  Lincoln  was  shot,  and 
was  in  uniform.  When  a  call  for  a  surgeon  was  made, 
I  fought  my  way  to  the  stage  and  was  lifted  up  into  the 
box  by  the  people  underneath.  Two  army  paymasters 
had  already  entered  the  box  from  the  dress  circle,  and 
had  ordered  the  President's  carriage,  to  take  him  to  the 
White  House.  As  soon  as  I  had  located  the  wound,  just 
behind  the  left  ear,  I  countermanded  that  order,  and  di- 
rected that  the  President  be  removed  to  the  nearest  bed. 
He  would  not  have  lived  to  reach  home,  because  the  jolt- 
ing over  the  [then]  cobblestone  pavement  would  have 
brought  on  fatal  hemorrhage.  In  leaving  the  theater  I 
took  charge  of  the  head,  others  the  rest  of  the  body,  and 
several  men  preceded  us  and  tore  up  the  chairs  from  their 
fastenings  to  the  floor.  Major  Rathbone,  with  another 
gentleman,  assisted  Mrs.  Lincoln.  On  reaching  the  street 
I  saw  a  man  standing  on  the  porch  of  a  house  oppo- 
site, the  door  open  behind,  showing  a  lighted  hall.  To 
that  house  I  directed  my  steps,  and  was  pleased  to  find 
a  neat  bedroom  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  without  going  up- 


3<D  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

stairs.  The  single  bed  was  pulled  out  from  the  corner 
of  the  room,  and  the  dying  President  laid  upon  it,  diag- 
onally, his  extreme  length  not  admitting  of  any  other 
position.  I  then  administered  a  small  glass  of  brandy 
and  water,  and  it  was  swallowed  without  much  difficulty. 


THE    HOUSE    IN    WHICH    LINCOLN    DIED,    516  TENTH    STREET, 
WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 

Was  the  property  of  Will^m  Petersen  at  the  time  of  the  assassination. 
It  was  sold  to  Louis  Schade,  and  by  him  to  the  Government,  in  1897,  to  be 
preserved  as  a  memorial  to  the  martyred  President.  It  is  now  occupied  by 
O.  H.  Oldroyd  and  his  family,  who  have  on  exhibition  the  "  Oldroyd 
Lincoln  Memorial  Collection." 

Twenty  minutes  afterward  I  gave  him  another  teaspoon- 
ful,  but  it  was  not  swallowed.     To  the  whole  anterior 


DEATH   OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  31 

surface  of  the  body,  from  neck  to  ankles,  sinapism  was 
applied,  with  the  hope  of  restoring  vitality,  but  not 
the  smallest  sign  of  consciousness  was  shown  by  the  pa- 
tient from  the  moment  I  saw  him  in  the  box  until  his 
death.  Dr.  Robert  King  Stone,  the  family  physician, 
and  Surgeon-General  Joseph  K.  Barnes  had  in  the  mean- 
time probed  the  wound,  and  had  pronounced  it  mortal. 
While  the  oozing  of  the  blood  and  brain  tissue  was  free 
the  respiration  was  less  labored;  and,  to  keep  the  head 
from  rolling  over  on  the  pillow  and  obstructing  the  dis- 
charge, I  stood  at  the  head  of  the  bed  and  supported  the 
President's  head,  keeping  the  wound  free  from  coagula. 
I  remained  in  that  position  nearly  all  night,  being  at 
times  relieved  by  Surgeon  Charles  H.  Crane." 

All  through  the  long,  weary  night  the  watchers  stood 
by  the  couch  of  the  dying  President.  He  was  uncon- 
scious every  moment  from  the  time  the  bullet  crashed 
into  his  brain  until  the  dawn  of  day,  when  the  tide  of 
life  ebbed  out. 

About  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  Dr.  Stone  an- 
nounced that  death  was  at  hand,  and  at  twenty-two 
minutes  past  seven  the  pulse  ceased  beating.  Secretary 
Stanton  approached  the  bed  and  uttered,  in  low  voice: 
"  Now  he  belongs  to  the  ages."  Rev.  Phineas  D.  Gurley, 
the  President's  pastor,  dropped  upon  his  knees  by  the 
bedside  and  uttered  a  fervent  prayer.  Never  was  a  sup- 
plication wafted  to  Heaven  under  more  solemn  circum- 
stances. Dr.  Gurley  went  to  the  front  parlor,  where  he 
prayed  with  Mrs.  Lincoln.  At  its  conclusion,  he,  with 
Robert  Lincoln,  assisted  her  to  thenleath  chamber.  . 

The  end  of  a  great  life  had  come  just  as  the  end  of  the 
nation's  struggle  was  at  hand.  Victory  after  victory  had 
gladdened  the  ears  of  the  loyal  people,  and  they  began, 
for  the  first  time,  to  see  the  dawning  of  an  abiding  peace. 


32  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  the  very  moment  when  all  was  joy  and  exultation, 
when  the  President's  heart  beat  strong  and  his  hand  was 
outstretched  to  the  repentant  returning  to  their  homes, 
the  demon  struck  his  terrible  blow.  It  was  upon  the 
anniversary  of  two  great  events;  one  was  Good  Friday, 
the  anniversary  of  the  day  upon  which  the  Saviour  was 
crucified;  and  the  other  the  anniversary  of  the  day  when 
the  national  flag  was  taken  down  from  Fort  Sumter  in 
1861. 

The  record  of  Lincoln's  acts  and  the  results  of  his 
principles  will  constitute  an  everlasting  monument  of  his 
greatness.  He  needs  no  other  eulogy;  no  brighter 
page  can  be  written  for  him.  But  how  sad  his  taking 
off!  In  truth,  as  the  iron-hearted  Stanton  had  said, 
at  the  last  passing  of  this  life,  "  Now  he  belongs  to  the 
ages !  " 

Dr.  Ezra  W.  Abbott  has  kindly  furnished  me  with  the 
minutes  that  he  kept  of  the  condition  of  the  President 
through  the  night: 

11  o'clock.     Pulse  41. 

11.05  o'clock.  Pulse  45,  and  growing  weaker. 

11.10  o'clock.  Pulse  45.    • 

11.15  o'clock.  Pulse  42. 

1 1. 20  o'clock.  Pulse  45;  respiration  27  to  29. 

11.25  o'clock.  Pulse  42. 

11.32  o'clock.  Pulse  48,  and  full. 

11.40  o'clock.  Pulse  45. 

11.45  o'clock.  Pulse  45;  respiration  22. 

12  o'clock.    Pulse  48;  respiration  22. 

12.15  o'clock.  Pulse  48;  respiration  21;  ecchymosis 
of  both  eyes. 

12.30  o'clock.  Pulse  54. 

12.32  o'clock.  Pulse  60. 

12.35  o'clock.  Pulse  66. 


u  — 
r~\  << 


h  m 

o    ~ 


<u  ^ 


LIBRARY 

Of     iHt 

UNIVEKSITY  ot  ILLINOIS 


DEATH    OF   THE    PRESIDENT.  35 

12.40  o'clock.  Pulse  69,  right  eye  much  swollen,  and 
ecchymosed. 

12.45  o'clock.    Pulse  70;  respiration  27. 

12.55  o'clock.     Pulse  80;  struggling  motion  of  arms. 

i  o'clock.    Pulse  86;  respiration  30. 

1.30  o'clock.    Pulse  95;  appearing  easier. 

1.45  o'clock.  Pulse  86;  very  quiet;  respiration  irregu- 
lar; Mrs.  Lincoln  present. 

2. TO  o'clock.  Mrs.  Lincoln,  with  Robert  Lincoln,  re- 
tired to  an  adjoining  room. 

2.30  o'clock.  Pulse  54;  President  very  quiet;  respira- 
tion 28. 

2.52  o'clock.     Pulse  48;  respiration  30. 

3  o'clock.    Visited  again  by  Mrs.  Lincoln. 
3.25  o'clock.     Respiration  24,  and  regular. 
3.35  o'clock.     Prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley. 

4  o'clock.     Respiration  26,  and  regular. 
4.15  o'clock.    Pulse  60;  respiration  25. 

5.50  o'clock.     Respiration  28,  regular,  sleeping. 

6  o'clock.     Pulse  failing;  respiration  28. 

6.30  o'clock.    Still  failing,  and  labored  breathing. 

7  o'clock.     Symptoms  of  immediate  dissolution. 
7.22  o'clock.    Death. 

The  house  to  which  the  President  was  carried  from 
the  theater  was  No.  453  Tenth  Street  (now  516),  between 
E  and  F  streets,  and  owned  at  the  time  by  William 
Petersen,  a  tailor.  The  house  is  a  plain  four-story  brick, 
built  in  1849.  The  room  in  which  the  President  died  is 
on  the  first  story  above  the  basement,  at  the  end  of  a  hall, 
from  which  rises  a  stairway.  The  room  measures  nine 
by  seventeen  feet.  The  bed  on  which  he  lay  was  a 
low  walnut  four-poster.  '  The  walls  were  hung  with  a 
photograph  taken  from  a  lithograph  of  Rosa  Bonheur's 
"Horse  Fair,"  an  engraved  copy  of  Herring's  ''Village 


C/> 


TENTH    ST 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  SECOND  STORY  OF  THE  HOUSE  IN  WHICH  LINCOLN  DIED. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  occupied  the  front  parlor,  making  frequent  visits  to  the  bed- 
side of  the  President. 

i.  Hat-rack  in  hall.    2.  Table.    3.  Sofa,  occupied  by  Mrs.  Lincoln.    4  and 
5.  What-nots.    6.  Fireplace.    7.  Center  table. 
Back  parlor. 

8.  Washstand.  g.  Table  at  which  Secretary  Stanton  wrote  his  dispatches. 
10.  Table  and  chair  occupied  by  Corporal  James  Tanner  as  stenographer 
during1  the  preliminary  examinations  of  the  witnesses,  n.  Fireplace.  12. 
Bed,  not  made  up.  13.  Bureau. 

14.  Bed  on  which  the  President  died.    15.    Table. 


DEATH   OF  THE   PRESIDENT.  37 

Blacksmith,"  and  two  smaller  ones  of  "  The  Stable  "  and 
"  Barn  Yard,"  by  the  same  artist.  The  room  had  been 
occupied  for  some  time  by  William  T.  Clark,  a  soldier 
belonging  to  Company  D,  I3th  Massachusetts  Infantry, 
and  detailed  in  the  Quartermaster's  Department. 

As  a  number  of  persons  have  claimed  the  occupancy  of 
the  room  at  the  time,  I  give  a  copy  of  a  letter  Mr.  Clark 
wrote  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  H.  Estes  Wright  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  which  now  hangs  in  the  room.  His  wife,  still 
living  in  Boston,  Mass.,  received  many  loving  epistles 
from  him  while  a  tenant  of  this  historic  house. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Wednesday,  April  19,  1865. 
DEAR  SISTER  IDA  : 

To-day  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Lincoln  takes  place.  The  streets 
are  being  crowded  at  this  early  hour  (9  A.  M.),  and  the  procession 
will  probably  not  move  for  three  hours. 

The  past  few  days  have  been  of  intense  excitement;  arrests 
are  numerously  made — if  any  party  is  heard  to  utter  secesh 
sentiments.  The  time  has  come  when  persons  cannot  say  what 
they  please,  for  the  people  are  awfully  indignant.  Hundreds 
daily  call  at  the  house  to  gain  admission  to  my  room.  I  was  en- 
gaged nearly  all  Sunday  with  one  of  Frank  Leslie's  special 
artists,  aiding  him  in  making  a  complete  drawing  of  the  last 
moments  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  as  I  know  the  position  of  everyone 
present.  He  succeeded  in  executing  a  fine  sketch,  which  will 
appear  in  their  paper.  He  wished  to  mention  the  names  of  all 
pictures  in  the  room,  particularly  the  photograph  of  yourself, 
Clara,  and  Nannie;  but  I  told  him  he  must  not  do  that,  as  they 
were  members  of  my  family,  and  I  did  not  wish  them  to  be 
made  so  public.  He  also  urged  me  to  give  him  my  picture,  or 
at  least  allow  him  to  take  my  sketch,  but  I  could  not  see  that 
either.  Everybody  has  a  great  desire  to  obtain  some  memento 
from  my  room,  so  that  whoever  comes  in  has  to  be  closely 
watched  for  fear  they  will  steal  something.  I  have  a  lock  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  hair,  which  I  have  had  neatly  framed  ;  also  a  piece  of 
linen  with  a  portion  of  his  brain.  The  pillow  and  case  upon 
which  he  lay  when  he  died,  and  nearly  all  his  wearing  apparel, 
I  intend  to  send  .to  Robert  Lincoln  as  soon  as  the  funeral  is 


38  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

over,  as  I  consider  him  the  most  justly  entitled  to  them.  The 
same  mattress  is  on  my  bed,  and  the  same  coverlid  covers 
me  nightly  that  covered  him  while  dying.  Enclosed  you  will 
find  a  piece  of  lace  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  wore  on  her  head  dur- 
ing the  evening  and  was  dropped  by  her  while  entering  my 
room  to  see  her  dying  husband;  it  is  worth  keeping  for  its  his- 
torical value.  The  cushion  worked  by  Clara,  and  the  cushion 
by  you,  you  little  dreamed  would  be  so  historically  connected 
with  such  an  event.  Love  to  father,  mother,  and  Clara.  Don't 
forget  you  have  a  brother,  and  send  me  a  longer  note  soor  . 
I  will  write  again  soon. 

Your  affec.  brother, 

WILLIE. 


Charles  Sumner  remained  by  the  bedside  all  night, 
and  he  and  General  W.  H.  Halleck  left  the  house  a  few 
minutes  after  the  President's  death,  in  the  latter's 
carriage,  and  drove  to  the  Kirkwood  House,  where  Gen- 
eral Halleck  first  notified  the  Vice-President  of  the  Presi- 
dent's death. 

William  Reith,  John  C.  Weaver,  Eli^Iorey,  David 
Frantz,  John  Richardson,  and  Antonio  Bregazzi  were  de- 
tailed by  General  Daniel  H.  Rucker,  Quartermaster,  to 
report  to  the  Petersen  house  on  the  morning  of  the 
death,  and  at  nine  o'clock  they  placed  the  body  of  the 
President  in  a  temporary  coffin,  wrapped  it  with  the 
American  flag,  and  carried  it  to  the  hearse.  The  squad 
of  soldiers  with  a  guard  of  cavalry,  followed  by  General 
C.  C.  Augur  and  other  military  officers  on  foot,  formed 
the  procession,  which  moved  up  Tenth  Street  to  G, 
thence  west  to  the  White  House,  where  the  body  was 
carried  in  by  the  soldiers.  Every  loyal  man  felt  that  he 
had  suffered  a  personal  bereavement,  and  as  the  sad  news 
spread  throughout  the  city  the  rain  began  to  softly  fall, 
as  if  the  heavens  were  weeping  for  the  nation's  loss. 

After  the  death  of  the  President,  on  Saturday  morning, 


DEATH   OF  THE   PRESIDENT. 


39 


Attorney-General  James  Speed  waited  upon  Andrew 
Johnson,  Vice-President,  and  officially  informed  him  of 
the  death  of  President  Lincoln,  and  asked  that  an  early 


WILLIAM    T.     CLARK, 

A  soldier  of  Company  D,  i^th  Massachusetts  Infantry,  who  occupied  the 
room  in  which  President  Lincoln  died. 

hour  might  be  appointed  for  his  inauguration  as  Lincoln's 
successor.  A  communication  was  handed  him  signed  by 
all  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  except  Secretary  Seward, 
notifying  him  that,  by  the  death  of  President  Lincoln, 
the  office  of  President  had  devolved,  under  the  Consti- 
tution, upon  him,  and  that  the  emergency  of  the  Govern- 
ment demanded  that  he  should  immediately  qualify  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements  of  the  Constitution  and 
enter  upon  the  duties  of  President  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Johnson' requested  that  the  ceremonies  take  place  at 
his  rooms  in  the  Kirkwood  House. 


40  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

At  eleven  o'clock  (i5th)  Chief  Justice  Salmon  P.  Chase 
proceeded  to  the  Kirkwood  House,  accompanied  by  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  and  several  United  States  sena- 
tors, and  administered  the  oath  of  office  under  more 
solemn  and  impressive  circumstances  than  ever  before 
in  the  history  of  our  country. 

After  receiving  the  oath,  and  being  declared  President 
of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Johnson  made  a  few  feeling 
remarks,  acknowledging  his  incompetency  to  perform 
duties  so  important  and  responsible  as  those  which  had 
been  so  unexpectedly  thrown  upon  him,  also  stating  that 
he  had  been  almost  overwhelmed  by  the  announcement 
of  the  sad  event  which  had  so  recently  occurred.  At  the 
conclusion  of  his  remarks  the  President  received  the  kind 
wishes  of  those  present.  Mr.  Johnson  retained  the  Cabinet 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  asking  them  to  go  on  and  discharge  their 
respective  duties  in  the  same  manner  -as  before  the  de- 
plorable event  that  had  changed  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment, the  wheels  of  which  were  not  stopped  for  a  mo- 
ment; and  this  sudden  change  of  administration,  taking 
place  at  a  time  of  a  great  national  calamity,  ought  to 
teach  the  world  a  lesson  as  to  the  permanency  and  char- 
acter of  our  republican  form  of  government.  On  Friday 
night  President  Lincoln  was  assassinated;  on  Saturday 
morning  Vice-President  Johnson  grasped  the  reins  of 
government  as  they  fell  from  the  dying  hand  of  his 
predecessor. 

The  autopsy  was  performed  under  the  direction  of 
Surgeon-General  Barnes,  assisted  by  Doctors  Stone, 
Curtis,  Woodward,  Crane,  and  Taft,  in  the  presence  of 
President  Johnson,  General  Augur,  and  General  Rucker. 

The  face  of  the  President  presented  a  deep  black  ap- 
pearance around  both  eyes.  The  fatal  wound  was  on 
the  left  side  of  the  head,  behind,  in  a  line  with,  and 


DEATH    OF   THE    PRESIDENT.  41 

three  inches  from  the  left  ear.  The  course  of  the  ball 
was  diagonally  forward  toward  the  right  eye,  crossing 
the  brain  in  an  oblique  manner,  and  lodging  a  few 
inches  behind  that  eye.  In  the  track  of  the  wound 
were  found  fragments  of  bone  that  had  been  driven 
forward  by  the  ball,  which  was  embedded  in  the 
anterior  lobe  of  the  left  hemisphere  of  the  brain.  The 
orbital  plates  of  both  eyes  were  the  seat  of  a  comminuted 
fracture,  and  the  eyes  were  filled  with  extravasated  blood. 
The  serious  injury  of  the  orbital  plates  was  due  to  the 
contre-coup — rthe  result  of  the  intense  shock  of  so  large 
a  projectile  fired  so  closely  to  the  head.  The  ball  was 
evidently  a  Derringer  hand-cast,  from  which  the  neck 
had  been  clipped.  A  shaving  of  lead  had  been  removed 
by  the  skull,  which  was  found  in  the  orifice  of  the  wound. 
The  first  fragment  of  bone  was  found  two  and  a  half 
inches  within  the  brain;  the  second  and  larger  fragment 
about  four  inches  from  the  orifice  of  the  wound,  which 
was  about  one  inch  in  diameter.  The  ball  lay  still 
farther  in  advance.  The  autopsy  fully  confirmed  the 
opinion  of  the  surgeons  on  the  night  of  the  assassina- 
tion, that  the  wound  was  mortal. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

OTHER    ATTEMPTS    AT    ASSASSINATION    EVENING    OF 
APRIL    14,    1865. 

THE  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  was  but  a  part 
of  the  scheme  of  the  conspirators  to  entirely  destroy  the 
executive  branch  of  the  Government.  Lewis  Payne  (his 
real  name  was  Lewis  Thornton  Powell)  boarded  at  the 
Herndon  House,  corner  Ninth  and  F  streets,  where  the 
Loan  and  Trust  Building  now  stands,  for  two  weeks, 
leaving  there  on  the  afternoon  of  April  14.  He  paid  his 
bill  at  four  o'clock,  and  requested  dinner  before  the  regu- 
lar time,  and  it  was  served  to  him.  Very  little  is  known 
of  his  whereabouts  from  that  time  until  10  P.  M.,  when 
he  rang  the  bell  of  the  Seward  mansion,  which  stood  on 
the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Lafayette  Opera  House. 
When  the  door  was  opened  by  the  colored  doorkeeper, 
Payne  stepped  in,  holding  a  little  package  in  his  hand, 
saying  that  he  had  some  medicine  for  Secretary  Seward, 
sent  by  Dr.  Verdi,  which  he  was  directed  to  deliver  in 
person  and  give  instructions  how  it  was  to  be  taken.  The 
doorkeeper  informed  him  that  he  could  not  see  Mr. 
Seward,  but  he  repeated  the  words,  saying  he  must  see 
him.  He  talked  very  roughly  for  several  minutes  against 
the  protest  of  the  doorkeeper,  who  said  he  had  positive 
orders  to  admit  no  one  to  the  sick-chamber.  The  door- 
keeper finally  weakened,  thinking  perhaps  he  was  sent  by 
Dr.  Verdi,  and  let  him  ascend  the  stairs.  When  at  the 
top,  he  met  Mr.  Frederick  Seward,  a  son  of  the  Secre- 
tary's, to  whom  he  told  the  object  of  his  visit,  but  Mr. 

42 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS   AT   ASSASSINATION. 


43 


Seward  told  him  that  he  could  not  see  his  father;  that 
he  was  asleep,  but  to  give  him  the  medicine  and  he 
would  take  it  to  him.  That  would  not  do;  he  must  see 
Mr.  Seward;  and  then  Mr.  Frederick  Seward  said:  "I 
am  the  proprietor  here,  and  his  son;  if  you  cannot  leave 
your  message  with  me,  you  cannot  leave  it  at  all." 


THE    ELAINE    HOUSE. 


The  house  in  which  Secretary  William  H.  Seward  was  living  when 
Payne  made  the  attempt  to  assassinate  him.  The  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine 
died  in  this  house.  It  was  a  club-house  at  the  time  of  the  Sickles-Key 
difficulty,  and  near  here  Key  was  killed. 

Payne  started  downstairs,  and,  after  taking  a  few  steps, 
suddenly  turned  around  and  struck  Mr.  Frederick  Sew- 
ard, felling  him  to  the  floor.  Sergeant  George  F.  Robin- 


44  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

son,  acting  as  attendant  nurse  to  Mr.  Seward,  was  in  an 
adjoining  room,  and  on  hearing  the  noise  in  the  hall 
opened  the  door,  where  he  found  Payne  close  up  to  it. 
As  soon  as  the  door  was  opened,  he  struck  Robinson 
in  the  forehead  with  a  knife,  knocking  him  partially 
down,  and  pressed  past  him  to  the  bed  of  Mr.  Seward, 
where  he  leaned  over  it  and  struck  him  three  times  in 
the  neck  with  his  dagger. 

Mr.  Seward  had  been  out  riding  shortly  before  the 
fatal  day,  and  had  been  thrown  from  his  carriage  with 
great  violence,  breaking  an  arm  and  fracturing  his  jaw. 
The  physician  had  fixed  up  a  steel  mask  or  frame  to  hold 
the  broken  bones  in  place  while  setting.  The  assassin's 
dagger  cut  his  face  from  the  right  cheek  down  to  the 
neck,  and  but  for  this  steel  bandage,  which  deflected  two 
of  the  stabs,  the  assassin  might  have  accomplished  his 
purpose.  The  carriage  disaster  was  after  this  night  al- 
most considered  a  blessing  in  disguise.  Frederick  Sew- 
ard suffered  intensely  from  a  fracture  of  the  cranium. 
The  nurse  attempted  to  haul  Payne  off  the  bed,  when  he 
turned  and  attacked  him  the  second  time.  During  this 
scuffle  Major  Augustus  H.  Seward,  son  of  Secretary 
Seward,  entered  the  room  and  clinched  Payne,  and  be- 
tween the  two  they  succeeded  in  getting  him  to  the  door, 
when  he  broke  away  and  ran  downstairs  and  outdoors. 
The  colored  doorkeeper  ran  after  the  police  or  guards 
when  Frederick  Seward  was  knocked  down,  and  re- 
turned and  reported  that  he  saw  the  man  riding  a  horse 
and  followed  him  to  I  Street,  where  he  was  lost  sight  of. 

In  some  way  Payne's  horse  got  away  from  him,  for 
a  little  after  one  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th, 
Lieutenant  John  F.  Toffey,  on  going  to  the  Lincoln 
Hospital,  East  Capitol  and  Fifteenth  streets,  where  he 
was  on  duty,  found  a  dark  bay  horse,  with  saddle 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION.  45 

and  bridle  on,  standing  at  Lincoln  Branch  Barracks. 
The  horse  no  doubt  came  in  on  a  sort  of  byroad  that 
led  to  Camp  Barry,  which  turned  north  from  the  Branch 
Barracks  toward  the  Bladensburg  road.  The  sweat 
pouring  from  the  animal  had  made  a  regular  puddle 
on  the  ground.  A  sentinel  at  the  hospital  had  stopped 
the  horse.  Lieutenant  Toffey  and  Captain  Lansing  of 
the  1 3th  New  York  Cavalry  took  the  horse  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  picket  at  the  Old  Capitol  Prison,  and 
from  there  to  General  E.  O.  C.  Ord's  headquarters. 
After  reaching  there,  they  discovered  that  the  horse  was 
blind  of  one  eye,  which  identified  it  as  the  one  Booth 
purchased  in  November,  1864,  from  Squire  George 
Gardiner. 

Many  persons  wonder  why  Payne  did  not  shoot  Mr. 
Seward,  as  he  had  a  revolver  in  his  hand.  But  it  was  dis- 
abled when  he  struck  the  Secretary's  son,  as  the  pin  of 
the  revolver  bent  very  slightly,  but  sufficiently  to  prevent 
the  chamber  from  turning.  Every  chamber  was  loaded, 
but  the  hammer  could  not  be  raised.  Payne  ho  doubt 
thought  that  the  three  stabs  he  had  given  the  Secretary 
had  killed  him. 

George  A.  Atzerodt  spent  the  two  weeks  previous  to  the 
assassination  at  the  Pennsylvania  House,  307  C  Street 
N.  W.,  and  returning  one  night  after  a  round  of  drinking 
with  some  young  men,  he  said:  "I  am  pretty  nearx 
broke,  though  I  have  friends  enough  to  give  me  as  much 
money  as  will  keep  me  all  my  life.  I  am  going  away  one 
of  these  days,  but  I  will  return  with  as  much  gold  as 
will  keep  me  all  my  lifetime." 

On  a  leaf  of  the  register  of  the  Kirkwood  House  the 
name  of  G.  A.  Atzerodt  was  written,  on  the  morning  of 
April  14,  about  eight  o'clock,  and  Room  126  was  as- 
signed him.  He  paid  one  day's  board  in  advance,  but 


46  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

did  not  occupy  the  bed  that  night,  although  he  deposited 
in  the  room  his  numerous  effects,  among  which  was  a 
coat,  found  hanging  on  the  wall,  in  which  was  a  bank- 
book of  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  showing  a  credit  of  $455  with 
the  Ontario  Bank,  Montreal,  October  27,  1864,  and  also 
a  map  of  Virginia,  and  some  handkerchiefs  with  various 
initials.  Underneath  the  pillow  was  found  a  revolver, 
loaded  and  capped.  This  room  was  on  the  floor  above 
the  room  then  occupied  by  Vice-President  Johnson,  and 
in  coming  down  from  Room  126,  to  reach  the  office  of 
the  hotel,  a  person  would  pass  Mr.  Johnson's  door. 

Mr.  John  Fletcher  was  foreman  of  Allison  Naylor's 
livery  stable  on  E  Street,  between  Thirteen-and-a-half 
and  Fourteenth  streets  N.  W.  He  said  that  on  the  3d 
of  April  Atzerodt,  in  company  with  another  man,  called 
at  the  stable  with  two  horses.  Atzerodt's  horse  was  a 
dark  brown,  and  blind  of  one  eye.  Atzerodt's  friend  said 
that  he  was  going  to  Philadelphia,  and  would  leave  the 
sale  of  his"  horse  to  Atzerodt.  The  horses  remained  at 
the  stable  until  the  I2th,  when  Atzerodt  sold  the  one 
belonging  to  his  friend  to  Thompson,  the  stage  con- 
tractor, and  took  his  own  away.  At  i  o'clock  p.  M.,  on 
the  I4th,  David  E.  Herold  and  Atzerodt  went  to  the 
stable  with  a  dark  bay  mare.  Atzerodt  said  he  had  sold 
his  horse  and  had  bought  this  mare.  He  told  Mr. 
Fletcher  to  put  it  in  the  stable.  This  bay  mare  is  evi- 
dently the  same  one  that  Atzerodt  hired  about  noon  of 
the  same  day  at  the  stable  of  Keleher  &  Pywell,  Eighth 
Street,  between  D  and  E  streets  N.  W.,  and  returned  it 
near  midnight. 

Herold  engaged  a  horse,  which  he  ordered  to  be  kept 
for  him,  and  he  would  call  for  it  at  four  o'clock.  At  a 
quarter  past  four  he  called  at  the  stable  and  asked  how 
much  the  charge  would  be  for  the  hire  of  the  horse.  He 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION.  47 

was  told  the  price  was  five  dollars.  He  then  asked  for  a 
reduction  of  the  price  to  four,  but  Mr.  Fletcher  told  him 
he  could  not  have  it  for  any  less. 

Herold  called  for  a  particular  horse,  he  being  ac- 
quainted with  it.  He  was  very  particular  in  the  selec- 
tion of  a  saddle  and  bridle,  and  picked  out  a  double- 
reined  bridle,  and  objection  was  made  to  the  stirrups 
being  covered  with  leather,  he  preferring  the  English 
steel  stirrups.  Before  he  left  he  asked  how  late  he  could 
stay  out,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  told  him  he  could  stay  out  no 
later  than  eight  or  nine  o'clock.  Near  ten  o'clock  that 
night  Atzerodt  went  to  the  stable  for  his  horse.  In  re- 
turning from  an  adjoining  saloon  to  the  stable  Atzerodt 
remarked  to  Mr.  Fletcher  that  if  "  this  thing  happens 
to-night,  you  will  hear  of  a  present,"  or  "  get  a  present." 
Not  much  attention  was  paid  to  this  remark,  as  Mr. 
Fletcher  thought  that  he  was  a  little  intoxicated  and 
somewhat  excited.  As  Atzerodt  mounted  the  mare 
Fletcher  remarked  that  he  would  not  like  to  ride  that 
mare  through  the  city  in  the  night,  for  she  looked  skit- 
tish. "  Well,"  said  Atzerodt,  "  she's  good  upon  a  re- 
treat." Mr.  Fletcher  said:  "Your  acquaintance  is  stay- 
ing out  very  late  with  our  horse."  "  Oh,"  said  he,  "  he'll 
be  back  after  a  while."  Atzerodt  then  left,  and  Mr. 
Fletcher  watched  him  until  he  passed  Thirteen-and-a- 
half  Street  and  saw  him  go  into  the  Kirkwood  House. 
He  soon  came  out,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  rode  along 
D  Street  and  turned  up  Tenth. 

Having  a  suspicion  that  Herold  was  going  to  take  the 
horse  away,  Mr.  Fletcher  walked  up  to  Willard's  Hotel, 
where  he  saw  Herold  riding  the  roan  horse.  He  was 
coming  down  apparently  from  the  Treasury.  He  was 
passing  Fourteenth  Street,  and  the  horse  was  pulling  to 
get  to  the  stable,  as  he  was  very  well  acquainted  with 


48  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  place,  and  no  doubt  thought  he  had  been  out  late 
enough.  Mr.  Fletcher  hallooed  at  Herold:  "  You  get  off 
that  horse  now;  you  have  had  it  long  enough!  "  but  he 
put  spurs  to  it,  and  went  as  fast  as  the  horse  could  go 
up  Fourteenth  Street,  turning  east  on  F.  Herold  made 
no  reply,  although  he  knew  Mr.  Fletcher,  as  the  gas- 
light shone  in  his  face.  The  horse  was  a  fast  one,  his 
pace*  being  a  single-foot  rack,  but  would  trot  with  a 
loose  rein. 

Fletcher  returned  to  his  stable,  saddled  a  horse,  and 
started  in  pursuit,  tracking  Herold  to  the  bridge  over  the 
Eastern  Branch,  leading  to  Uniontown  (now  Anacostia). 
He  would  have  been  permitted  to  cross,  but  not  to  return, 
as  he  would  be  compelled  to  have  the  password.  This 
he  could  not  get,  so  he  gave  up  the  chase  and  returned 
to  the  stable.  Mr.  Allison  Naylor  was  at  his  home,  and 
consequently  was  not  aware  of  what  was  going  on  at  his 
stable  until  the  following  morning. 

Atzerodt  made  no  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Vice-Presi- 
dent  Johnson,  although  he  had  been  assigned  by  Booth 
to  perform  that  act,  but  probably  through  cowardice  he 
failed  to  make  the  attempt.  He  was  seen  at  different 
times  during  the  night  of  the  i/j-th.  About  half-past 
eleven  o'clock  he  got  on  a  car  at  the  corner  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue  and  Sixth  Street,  and  on  the  same  car  was 
Washington  Briscoe,  an  acquaintance,  who  asked  him 
if  he  had  heard  the  news  of  the  assassination.  Atzerodt 
said  he  had,  and  immediately  asked  his  friend  if  he  could 
sleep  in  his  store  with  him,  but  the  privilege  was  denied 
him.  When  the  car  neared  the  Navy  Yard,  he  again 
asked,  and,  when  getting  off  the  car,  asked  for  the  third 
time. 

Briscoe's  store  was  in  the  Navy  Yard,  and  he  positively 
refused  Atzerodt's  pleadings  for  shelter.  Atzerodt  then 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION.  49 

said  he  would  go  back  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hous£. 
He  had  appeared  on  horseback  at  that  hotel  between 
ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  and  asked  James  Walker,  a 
colored  man  working  at  the  hotel,  to  hold  his  horse 
while  he  went  in  to  the  bar.  After  spending  a  few 
minutes  in  there  he  came  out,  mounted  his  horse, 
and  rode  off.  He  again  appeared  about  two  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  I5th,  this  time  on  foot,  and 
applied  for  a  room,  when  he  tendered  Mr.  Greenwalt 
a  five-dollar  bill  in  payment  for  his  room,  and  the 
change  was  returned  to  him.  He  started  for  his  room, 
when  he  was  reminded  by  Mr.  Greenwalt  that  he  had 
not  registered.  He  said:  "Do  you  want  my  name?" 
He  hesitated  some,  but  stepped  back  and  registered. 
He  had  never  previously  hesitated  to  register  the 
numerous  times  that  he  had  stopped  there.  He  had  a 
short  sleep,  if  he  slept  at  all,  for  he  left  the  hotel  between 
five  and  six  in  the  morning,  and  the  next  we  hear  of  him 
is  in  Georgetown,  about  8  o'clock  A.  M.,  when  he  en- 
tered Matthews  &  Co.'s  store,  49  High  Street,  and  asked 
the  loan  of  ten  dollars,  offering  to  give  his  revolver  for 
security,  saying  that  he  would  bring  the  money  back  the 
following  week.  The  money  was  given  him,  as  the  clerk 
considered  the  revolver  well  worth  the  amount  asked. 

He  was  next  located  at  the  country  residence  of 
Hezekiah  Metz,  who  resided  in  Montgomery  County, 
Maryland,  about  twenty-two  miles  northwest  of  Wash- 
ington, where*  he  arrived  between  10  and  n  A.  M.,  Sun- 
day, the  i6th.  He  dined  with  the  family,  and  remained 
there  several  hours.  Mr.  Metz  inquired  about  the  news, 
and  in  the  conversation  said  that  he  understood  that  Gen- 
eral Grant  had  been  shot.  Atzerodt  replied  that  "  if  the 
man  that  was  to  follow  him  had  done  so,  it  was  likely 
to  be  so."  He  said  that  a  man  was  to  have  gotten  on 


$O  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

the  same  train  that  General  Grant  did,  thus  disclosing 
very  clearly  that  one  of  the  conspirators  was  assigned 
the  task  of  killing  General  Grant.  Atzerodt  knew  that 
General  Grant  had  left  Washington  on  the  evening  of 
the  assassination. 

Atzerodt  passed  in  this  neighborhood  by  the  name  of 
Andrew  Attwood.  From  Mr.  Metz  he  went  to  the  home 
of  his  cousin,  Hartman  Richter,  near  Middleburg,  in 
Montgomery  County,  Maryland,  which  place  he  reached 
between  three  and  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  afternoon. 
He  remained  there,  occupying  his  time  by  walking  about 
and  occasionally  working  in  the  garden,  until  Thursday, 
the  2oth,  when  he  was  arrested  by  Sergeant  Z.  W.  Gem- 
mill,  of  Captain  S.  Townsend's  company,  ist  Delaware 
Cavalry.  Sergeant  Gemmill  was  sent  with  a  detail  of  six 
men,  and  reached  the  house  of  a  Mr.  James  W.  Purdon, 
and  pressed  him  in  as  a  guide  to  Mr.  Richter's.  When 
the  sergeant  knocked  at  the  door  Mr.  Richter  inquired 
who  it  was,  and  the  sergeant  invited  him  out  to  see.  He 
was  then  asked  if  there  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Att- 
wood in  the  house,  and  he  said,  No,  there  was  no  one 
there — that  he  had  been  there,  but  had  gone  to  Frederick, 
or  to  that  neighborhood.  The  sergeant  told  him  he  would 
go  in  and  search  the  house,  whereupon  Richter  said  that 
his  cousin  was  upstairs  in  bed.  His  wife  then  spoke  up, 
and  said  that  as  for  that,  there  were  three  men  there. 
Richter  got  a  light,  and  the  sergeant,  taking  two  men 
with  him,  went  upstairs,  where  he  found  Atzerodt  lying 
on  the  front  of  the  bed.  The  sergeant  asked  him  his  name, 
and  he  gave  one  that  was  not  understood — probably  a  fic- 
titious one.  He  was  ordered  to  get  up  and  dress,  and  he 
was  taken  to  a  Mr.  Leaman,  a  loyal  man,  who  knew  him. 
Atzerodt  made  no  further  denial,  nor  did  he  inquire  why 
he  was  arrested.  The  sergeant  asked  him  if  he  had  any- 


OTHER   ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION.  5! 

thing  to  do  with  the  assassination,  and  he  said  he  had 
not.  He  afterward  confessed  to  J.  S.  McPhail,  provost- 
marshal-general  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  that  he  threw 
away  his  bowie-knife  above  the  Herndon  House,  corner 
F  and  Ninth  streets.  A  colored  man  subsequently  picked 
it  up  on  the  south  side  of  F  Street,  between  Eighth  and 
Ninth,  where  Atzerodt  said  he  threw  it. 

O'Laughlin,  Booth,  Surratt,  Arnold,  and  Atzerodt 
were  all  interested  in  an  oil  speculation,  as  they  fre- 
quently said.  They  at  least  made  it  appear  so,  that  they 
might  better  excuse  their  frequent  meetings  held  in 
Washington.  Booth  stopped  at  the  National  Hotel,  and 
when  the  parties  living  out  of  the  city  came  in,  they  lost 
but  little  time  until  they  called  upon  him.  Among  the 
rendezvous  of  these  persons  in  Washington  were  the 
Lichau  Restaurant,  connected  with  Rullman's  Hotel, 
456  Pennsylvania  Avenue;  the  Lichau  Hotel,  34  Loui- 
siana Avenue,  next  door  to  the  Canterbury  Music  Hall; 
the  Pennsylvania  House,  kept  by  John  Greenwalt,  and 
the  Herndon  House,  corner  Ninth  and  F  streets. 

O'Laughlin  and  Arnold  lodged  for  several  weeks,  in 
February,  1865,  at  Mrs.  Mary  Van  Tyne's  lodging  house, 
420  D  Street  N.  W.  While  here  Booth  frequently  called 
upon  them,  but  they  did  not  stay  much  of  the  time  in 
their  rooms,  and  occasionally  they  were  out  all  night. 
They  told  Mrs.  Van  Tyne  that  they  were  in  the  oil  busi- 
ness. The  following  telegrams  savor  a  little  of  oil  trans- 
actions : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  27,  1865. 

To  M.  O'LAUGHLIN,  Esq.,  57  North  Exeter  Street,  Baltimore,  Md.: 
Get  word  to  Sam.     Come  on,  with  or  without  him,  Wednes- 
day morning.     We  sell  that  day  sure.     Don't  fail. 

J.  WILKES  BOOTH. 


52  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

The  "  Sam "  mentioned  has  reference  to  Samuel 
Arnold. 

Booth  telegraphed  O'Laughlin  March  13,  1865: 

Don't  fear  to  neglect  your  business;  you  had  better  come  at 
once. 

On  April  13,  the  day  before  the  assassination, 
O'Laughlin,  in  company  with  three  companions,  arrived 
in  Washington  from  Baltimore  about  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  From  the  depot  they  sauntered  up  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue,  stopping  at  Rullman's  for  a  drink,  and 
from  there  they  went  the  rounds  of  the  various  saloons. 
O'Laughlin  and  Mr.  Early,  one  of  the  party,  went  to  the 
National  Hotel,  and  O'Laughlin,  excusing  himself,  went 
into  the  hotel,  and  after  inquiring  at  the  desk  came  out, 
and  the  two  walked  back  and  joined  their  party.  These 
companions  tried  to  prove  that  O'Laughlin  was  with 
them  until  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  I4th,  when 
they  registered  and  retired  at  the  Metropolitan  Hotel. 
James  B.  Henderson,  one  of  the  party,  said  that 
O'Laughlin  was  not  out  of  his  sight  after  their  arrival 
until  they  retired,  except  for  a  few  minutes  between  five 
and  six  o'clock,  shortly  after  their  arrival,  when 
O'Laughlin  said  he  had  been  to  see  Booth  at  the  Na- 
tional Hotel.  Henderson  also  said  that  O'Laughlin 
went  to  the  hotel  the  next  morning  to  see  Booth. 

The  illuminations  which  had  preceded  the  evening  of 
the  I3th  were  continued,  and  the  capital  was  in  a  blaze. 
The  public  buildings  were  magnificently  illuminated,  and 
bands  of  music  were  stationed  at  various  places.  The 
President's  mansion  and  the  War  and  Navy  Departments 
were  especially  brilliant.  The  people  expressed  their  joy 
and  happiness  that  the  hour  of  danger  had  passed  and 
the  nation  stood  redeemed.  After  the  illumination  at  the 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS   AT  ASSASSINATION.  53 

War  Department  was  over,  a  band  of  music  and  a  large 
crowd  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  Secretary  Stanton, 
320  K  Street  N.  W.,  and  serenaded  him,  and  also  General 
Grant,  who  was  present.  About  ten  o'clock  David  Stan- 
ton  saw  O'Laughlin  pass  in  the  door  of  the  Secretary's 
house  and  take  a  position  on  one  side  of  the  hall.  He 
asked  O'Laughlin  what  his  business  was,  who  asked 
where  the  Secretary  was,  and  was  told  that  he  was  stand- 
ing on  the  steps.  He  remained  there  some  minutes, 
when  he  was  requested  by  David  Stanton  to  go  out, 
which  he  did.  O'Laughlin  could  see  General  Grant  in 
the  brilliantly  lighted  parlors  from  where  he  stood  in  the 
hall.  While  the  band  was  playing  in  front  of  the  house, 
General  and  Mrs.  Grant,  the  Secretary,  General  Barnes 
and  his  wife,  with  some  other  guests,  appeared  upon  the 
front  steps,  as  the  crowd  was  calling  for  General  Grant. 
Major  Kilburn  Knox  was  one  of  the  party,  and  as  he 
walked  down  to  the  lower  step  O'Laughlin  said  to  him: 
"Is  Stanton  in?"  The  major  said:  "I  suppose  you 
mean  the  Secretary?  "  "  Yes,"  he  said;  "  I  am  a  lawyer 
in  town;  I  know  him  very  well."  Mr.  John  C.  Hatter 
was  standing  on  the  steps  listening  to  the  music,  when 
O'Laughlin  approached  him  and  asked  if  General  Grant 
was  in,  saying  he  wished  to  see  him,  but  was  told  that 
this  was  no  occasion  to  see  him;  that  if  he  remained  in 
front  of  the  house  he  could  see  the  general  when  he 
came  out. 

There  is  but  little  doubt  that  one  if  not  both  of  these 
distinguished  men  were  to  become  the  victims  of  his 
violence,  although  his  visit  to  the  house  was  the  night 
before  the  assassination. 

Mr.  Bernard  T.  Early,  one  of  the  men  who  came  to 
Washington  with  O'Laughlin,  said  that  on  Friday  morn- 
ing about  nine  o'clock  they  had  breakfast  at  Welcker's 


54  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Restaurant,  322  Pennsylvania  Avenue,*  and  then  they 
walked  up  the  avenue.  When  passing  the  National 
Hotel,  O'Laughlin  stopped  and  went  in  and  up  to 
Booth's  room.  His  companions  waited  for  him  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  and  as  he  didn't  come  out  they  went 
away  without  him;  but  O'Laughlin  joined  them  later. 
The  party  spent  the  day  of  the  assassination  in  drinking 
pretty  freely  and  visiting  places  of  resort. 

O'Laughlin  was  at  the  Lichau  House  about  eleven 
o'clock  Friday  night,  and  went  out  a  few  minutes  later 
with  John  H.  Fuller,  a  friend,  who  took  him  to  the 
Franklin  House,  Eighth  and  D  streets  N.  W.,  where 
they  remained  all  night.  On  Saturday  afternoon  the 
whole  party  returned  to  Baltimore  on  the  three  o'clock 
train. 

Upon  their  arrival  in  Baltimore,  and  while  going  to 
his  home,  O'Laughlin  met  his  brother-in-law,  who  told 
him  that  some  parties  had  been  there  that  morning  look- 
ing for  him.  O'Laughlin  went  into  the  house  to  see  his 
mother,  but  only  remained  with  her  a  few  minutes,  when 
he  came  out  and  said  to  Mr.  Early :  "  I  will  not  stay  here 
all  night,  for  fear  I  will  be  arrested.  If  I  am,  it  will  kill 
my  mother."  He  went  to  the  house  of  a  friend  by  the 
name  of  Bailey,  on  High  Street,  where  he  was  arrested 
on  Monday  the  i/th  by  William  Wallace.  Mr.  Wallace 
asked  him  why  he  was  there  instead  of  at  his  boarding 
place.  He  said  that  when  he  arrived  in  town  Saturday 
he  was  told  that  the  officers  had  been  looking  for  him, 
and  that  he  went  away  to  a  friend  of  his  on  Saturday 
and  Sunday.  When  he  was  arrested  he  seemed  to  un- 
derstand what  it  was  for,  and  did  not  ask  any  questions 
about  it. 

*  The  numbers  of  the  houses  at  that  time  do  not  correspond 
with  those  at  present. 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT   ASSASSINATION.  55 

Edward  Spangler  was  employed  as  a  stage  hand,  fre- 
quently misrepresented  as  a  stage  carpenter,  of  the 
theater.  He  was  to  assist  in  shoving  the  scenery  in 
its  place  as  the  necessity  of  the  play  required.  These 
were  his  duties  at  night,  but  during  the  day  he  was  to 
assist  in  doing  the  rough  carpenter  work  incidental  to 
plays  to  be  produced.  He  had  been  in  the  employ  of 
John  T.  Ford  at  the  theater  for  four  years,  at  intervals, 
and  the  two  last  years  continuously.  He  was  always 
regarded  as  a  very  good-natured,  kind,  willing  man.  At 
times  he  drank  to  excess,  which  had  a  tendency  to  make 
him  vicious  and  unfit  him  for  work.  He  seldom  drank 
to  excess  about  the  theater,  as  his  duty  of  shifting  the 
scenes  required  his  presence  upon  the  stage  constantly. 

Spangler  seemed  to  have  a  great  admiration  for  J. 
Wilkes  Booth.  Booth's  peculiar  fascinating  manner 
appealed  to  the  lower  class  of  people,  such  as  Spangler 
belonged  to.  Spangler  was  a  man  without  self-respect. 
He  took  his  meals  at  a  boarding-house  on  the  corner  of 
Seventh  and  G  streets,  and  rarely  slept  in  a  bed;  he  usu- 
ally slept  in  the  theater.  As  he  was  considered  a  very 
harmless  man  by  the  company  around  the  theater,  he  was 
often  the  subject  of  sport  and  fun.  During  the  awful  scene 
at  the  theater  Spangler  appears  to  have  been  Booth's 
right-hand  man.  He  was  called  out  of  the  theater  to 
hold  Booth's  horse,  but,  as  his  presence  was  needed 
upon  the  stage,  he  called  a  boy  by  the  name  of  Joseph 
Burroughs  and  told  him  to  hold  the  horse,  Spangler 
returning  to  his  place  on  the  stage.  It  is  understood, 
and  without  much  doubt,  that  Spangler  prepared  the  bar 
which  Booth  placed  in  the  wall  and  against  the  door, 
to  prevent  entrance  to  the  box  from  the  audience. 
Spangler  had  been  a  sort  of  general  servant  to  Booth, 
taking  care  of  his  horse  and  stable,  and  doing  his 


56  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

errands.  The  evidence  at  the  trial  strongly  implicated 
him  in  aiding  Booth  to  make  his  escape  from  the  theater 
after  the  murder. 

Samuel  Arnold  first  met  Booth  at  Barnum's  Hotel, 
Baltimore.  The  first  part  of  September,  1864,  Booth  sent 
for  him,  and  the  two  had  not  met  since  1852,  when  they 
were  both  schoolmates  at  .St.  Timothy's  Hall.  The  two 
were  engaged  in  conversation  upon  their  former  school 
days  while  they  sipped  their  wine  and  smoked  cigars  that 
Booth  had  ordered.  They  were  interrupted  by  a  knock 
at  the.  door.  When  opened,  Michael  O'Laughlin  stepped 
in,  and  after  an  introduction  to  Arnold  the  trio  sipped 
and  smoked.  It  was  here  that  Booth  ventured  his  propo- 
sition to  kidnap  the  President.  Booth  seemed  positive 
that  it  could  be  successfully  accomplished,  and  after  fully 
understanding  the  politics  and  feelings  of  Arnold  and 
O'Laughlin,  Booth  invited  them  to  join  him  in  the  con- 
spiracy. He  assured  them  that  it  could  be  accomplished 
between  Washington  and  the  Soldiers'  Home,  three 
miles  north  of  the  city,  as  Lincoln  frequently  went  out 
there  unguarded. 

The  first  plan  was  to  capture  and  carry  the  President  to 
Richmond,  and  for  his  exchange  produce  the  exchange 
of  all  the  Southern  prisoners  in  Federal  prisons,  or  other 
concessions  favorable  to  the  South.  Booth  in  his  fas- 
cinating manner  painted  the  chances  of  success  in  such 
glowing  colors  that  the  two  readily  consented  to  join 
him.  Booth  made  another  trip  to  Baltimore,  after  which 
he  went  to  New  York,  Boston,  and  Canada,  and  was  to 
return  in  a  month,  but  did  not  again  visit  Arnold  and 
O'Laughlin  until  January,  1865.  Upon  this  visit  he  had 
with  him  a  trunk  containing  two  guns,  cartridges, 
revolvers,  knives,  and  a  pair  of  handcuffs  to  shackle 
the  President.  The  weapons  were  to  be  used  to  de- 


OTHER   ATTEMPTS  AT   ASSASSINATION.  57 

fend  themselves  in  case  they  were  pursued.  He  gave 
the  pistols,  knives,  and  handcuffs  to  O'Laughlin  and 
Arnold  to  take  to  Washington.  Booth  himself  went 
to  Washington,  and  the  two  men  soon  followed  in 
a  buggy  that  Booth  had  purchased  in  Baltimore. 
Upon  their  arrival  in  the  capital  they  happened  to 
meet  Booth  on  the  street,  when  they  alighted,  took 
a  drink,  and  Booth  hinted  to  them  of  the  theater  plan, 
saying  he  would  wait  until  they  put  the  horse  and  buggy 
away,  and  then  tell  them  more  fully  of  the  project. 
At  the  first  interview  in  Baltimore  Booth  told  them  that, 
if  they  did  not  succeed  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  the 
chances  were  good  at  the  theater.  The  three  went  to 
Ford's  Theater  that  night,  and  Booth  explained  to  them 
the  different  back  entrances,  and  how  feasible  the  plan 
was.  He  had  rented  a  stable  in  the  rear  of  the  theater, 
having  bought  two  horses  down  the  country.  Booth's 
first  theater  plan  was  for  Arnold  to  rush  in  the  box  and 
seize  the  President,  while  Booth  and  Atzerodt  were  to  fol- 
low, handcuff  him,  and  lower  him  to  the  stage,  while  an- 
other was  to  catch  and  hold  him  till  those  in  the  box  got 
down.  The  lights  were  then  to  be  put  out,  and  the  exit 
to  the  rear  of  the  theater  made,  John  H.  Surratt  with 
a  number  of  armed  men  to  be  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Eastern  Branch  to  facilitate  escape  through  Surrattsville 
and  thence  to  Port  Tobacco  River  in  Charles  County, 
Maryland,  where  a  boat  was  to  be  in  waiting  to  take  the 
captive  across  the  river  and  on  to  Port  Royal,  which  is 
on  the  direct  line  to  Richmond.  This  boat  had  been 
in  readiness  in  a  concealed  spot  for  months,  waiting  for 
the  arrival  of  the  President. 

Another  plot  was  to  abduct  the  President  and  secrete 
him  in  what  is  known  as  the  Van  Ness  House,  on 
Seventeenth  Street,  near  the  Potomac  River,  until  a 


58  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

suitable  occasion  presented  itself,  when  he  would  nave 
been  taken  to  Richmond,  or  some  safe  place  in  the 
South,  only  to  be  released  when  the  price  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  South  was  paid. 

Mr.  Lincoln  frequently  visited  Secretary  Stanton's  of- 
fice at  the  War  Department,  adjoining  the  White  House, 
during  the  night,  to  learn  the  news  from  the  front,  es- 
pecially on  the  eve  of  an  expected  battle  or  after  it  had 
occurred.  It  was  during  one  of  these  unaccompanied 
midnight  excursions  that  his  capture  was  contemplated. 

The  Van  Ness  house  was  built  in  1820,  near  the  old 
homestead  of  David  Burns,  a*  Scotchman  whose  planta- 
tion embraced  a  large  portion  of  Washington  City.  It 
was  a  large  brick  house,  two  stories  and  a  half  high. 
The  partition  walls  all  ran  to  the  same  depth,  terminating 
as  cellar  walls.  The  cellars  made  by  these  walls  were  used 
for  various  purposes.  One  of  them  had  a  trapdoor  going 
down  through  the  floor,  and  it  was  in  one  of  these  secret 
vaults  that  the  conspirators  expected  to  confine  the  Presi- 
dent until  they  were  able  to  have  gotten  him  across  the 
Potomac.  While  all  these  preparations  were  going  on, 
Dr.  Samuel  Mudd  and  a  number  of  gentlemen  living  in 
the  vicinity  of  Bryantown,  Piscataway,  Port  Tobacco, 
and  Pope's  Creek  were  waiting  execution  of  the  plot, 
ready  to  faithfully  perform  their  part  in  securing  the  safe 
transport  of  the  President  to  the  Virginia  side  of  the 
Potomac  River. 

From  the  testimony  of  Weichmann  we  cannot  dis- 
credit the  fact  that  about  the  2oth  of  March  the  con- 
spirators were  foiled  in  an  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the 
President.  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Surratt,  in  great  excitement 
and  weeping,  said  that  her  son  John  had  gone  away 
not  to  return,  when  about  three  hours  subsequently, 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  he  reappeared, 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION.  59 

rushing  in  a  state  of  frenzy  into  the  room  in  his 
mother's  house,  armed,  proclaiming  that  his  prospects 
were  blasted  and  his  hopes  gone.  Lewis  Payne  soon 
came  into  the  same  room,  also  armed  and  under  great 
excitement,  and  was  immediately  followed  by  Booth, 
with  his  riding-whip  in  his  hand,  who  walked  rapidly 
across  the  floor  from  side  to  side,  so  much  excited  that 
for  some  time  he  did  not  notice  the  presence  of  Weich- 
mann.  Observing  him,  the  parties  withdrew,  upon  a 
suggestion  from  Booth,  to  an  upper  room,  and  there  had 
a  private  interview.  From  all  that  transpired  on  that 
occasion  it  is  apparent  that  when  these  parties  left  Mrs. 
Surratt's  house  that  day,  booted  and  spurred,  it  was  with 
the  full  purpose  of  completing  some  act  essential  to  the 
final  execution  of  the  work  of  assassination;  but  for  some 
unknown  cause  their  well-laid  plans  failed. 

The  President's  murder  had  become  a  topic  of  com- 
mon conversation  among  the  Confederates  in  Canada, 
and  it  was  also  talked  about  throughout  the  camps  in  and 
around  Richmond,  and  even  in  Washington  City,  which 
no  doubt  encouraged  these  men  to  capture  the  President, 
dead  or  alive. 

Arnold  seemed  to  have  weakened,  for  he  hesitated 
about  committing  murder,  and  even  withdrew  from  the 
plan  of  kidnaping  the  President,  for  at  a  meeting  held 
in  February,  1865,  a*  the  Lichau  House,  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  N.  W.,  he  refused  to  aid  the  plot,  and  declared 
that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  conspiracy. 
At  this  meeting  Booth,  O'Laughlin,  Atzerodt,  Surratt, 
and  several  others  were  present.  Booth  got  very  angry 
when  Arnold  said  that  if  the  thing  was  not  done  that 
week,  while  he  was  there,  he  would  withdraw.  Booth 
said  that  he  ought  to  be  shot  for  expressing  himself  in 
that  way.  Arnold  replied  that  two  could  play  at  that 


60  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

game.  The  following  letter,  written  from  Hookstown, 
Md.,  six  miles  from  Baltimore,  the  home  of  his  brother, 
explains  itself.  His  parents  were  at  that  time  residing  in 
Baltimore. 

HOOKSTOWN,  BALTO'.  Co.,  March  27,  1865. 
DEAR  JOHN: 

Was  business  so  important  that  you  could  not  remain  in 
Balto.  till  I  saw  you?  I  came  in  as  soon  as  I  could,  but  found 

you  had  gone  to  W n.     I  called  also  to  see  Mike,  but  learned 

from  his  mother  he  had  gone  out  with  you,  and  had  not  re- 
turned. I  concluded,  therefore,  he  had  gone  with  you.  How 
inconsiderate  you  have  been!  When  I  left  you.  you  stated  we 
would  meet  in  a  month  or  so.  Therefore  I  made  application  for 
employment,  an  answer  to  which  1  shall  receive  during  the 
week.  I  told  my  parents  I  had  ceased  with  you.  Can  I  then, 
under  existing  circumstances,  come  as  you  requested?  You 

know  full  well  that  the  Go 1  suspicions  something  is  going 

on  there;  therefore  the  undertaking  is  becoming  more  compli- 
cated. Why  not,  for  the  present,  desist  for  various  reasons? 
which,  if  you  look  into,  you  can  readily  see  without  my  making 
any  mention  thereof  to  you.  Nor  anyone  can  censui'e  me  for 
my  present  course.  You  have  been  its  cause,  for  how  can  I 
now  come  after  telling  them  I  had  left  you?  Suspicion  rests  on 
me  now,  from  my  whole  family,  and  even  parties  in  the  country. 
I  will  be  compelled  to  leave  home,  anyhow,  and  how  soon  I  care 
not. 

None,  no,  not  one,  were  more  in  a  favor  of  the  enterprise 
than  myself,  and  to-day  would  be  there  had  you  not  done  as 
you  have — by  this,  I  mean,  manner  of  proceeding.  I  am,  as 
you  well  know,  in  need.  I  am,  you  may  say,  in  rags,  whereas 
to-day  I  ought  to  be  well  clothed.  I  do  not  feel  right  stalking 
about  without  means,  and  more  from  appearance  a  beggar. 
I  feel  my  independence;  but  even  all  this  would  and  was 
forgotten,  for  I  was  one  with  you.  Time  more  propitious 
will  arrive  yet.  Do  not  do  act  rashly  or  in  haste.  I  would 
prefer  your  first  query,  "  Go  and  see  how  it  will  be  taken  at 

R d,"  and  ere  long  1  shall  be  better  prepared  to  again  be 

with  you.  I  dislike  writing;  would  sooner  verballj'  make  known 
my  views,  yet  you  know  writing  causes  me  thus  to  proceed. 


OTHER  ATTEMPTS  AT  ASSASSINATION.  6l 

Do  not  in  anger  peruse  this,  weigh  all  I  have  said,  and  as  a 
rational  man  and  a.  friend,  you  cannot  censure  or  upbraid  my 
conduct.  I  sincerely  trust  this,  nor  naught  else  that  shall  or 
may  occur,  will  ever  be  an  obstacle  to  obliterate  our  former 
friendship  and  attachment.  Write  me  to  Balto.,  as  I  expect  to 
be  in  about  Wednesday  or  Thursday,  or,  if  you  can  possibly 

come  on,  I  will  Tuesday  meet  you  in  Balto.  at  B .     Ever  I 

subscribe  myself, 

Your  friend, 

SAM. 

About  the  first  of  March,  1865,  Arnold  applied  to 
John  W.  Wharton,  who  kept  a  sutler's  store  outside  of 
the  fortifications  at  Fortress  Monroe,  for  a  clerkship. 
Mr.  Wharton  was  from  Baltimore,  and  it  was  through  a 
letter  from  Arnold's  father  that  he  gave  him  a  position 
as  clerk,  which  commenced  on  the  2d  of  April,  the  day 
after  his  arrival  at  Fortress  Monroe.  He  continued  in 
that  position  until  the  i/th  of  April,  when  he  was  ar- 
rested by  Voltaire  Randall  and  Eaton  G.  Horner.  When 
arrested,  Arnold  made  a  confession,  making  a  statement 
arid  giving  the  names  of  certain  men  connected  with  a 
plan  for  the  abduction  of  President  Lincoln.  He  was 
asked  if  he  ever  corresponded  with  Booth.  At  first  he 
denied  the  truth,  but  on  mentioning  the  letter  mailed 
at  Hookstown,  that  had  been  found  in  Booth's  trunk, 
he  admitted  that  he  wrote  that  letter.  His  carpet  sack 
was  examined  at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  and  in  it  was 
found  some  letters,  papers,  clothing,  a  revolver,  and 
some  cartridges.  The  revolver  was  loaded.  He  was 
taken  to  Baltimore,  thence  to  Washington. 

The  doorbell  of  Mrs.  Surratt's  house,  541  (now  604) 
H  Street  N.  W.,  was  rung  by  Major  H.  W.  Smith,  in 
company  with  other  officers,  about  eleven  o'clock  Mon- 
day night,  the  i/th.  When  the  bell  rang,  Mrs.  Surratt 
appeared  at  the  window  and  said:  "Is  that  you,  Mr. 


62  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Kirby?  "  The  reply  was  that  it  was  not  Mr.  Kirby,  and 
to  open  the  door.  She  opened  the  door,  and  was  asked: 
"Are  you  Mrs.  Surratt?"  She  said:  "  I  am  the  widow 
of  John  H.  Surratt."  The  officer  added,  "  And  the 
mother  of  John  H.  Surratt,  Jr.?  "  She  replied:  "  I  am." 
Major  Smith  said:  "  I  come  to  arrest  you  and  all  in  your 
house,  and  take  you  for  examination  to  General  Augur's 
headquarters."  No  inquiry  whatever  was  made  as  to  the 
cause  of  the  arrest.  Mr.  R.  C.  Morgan,  in  the  service  of 
the  War  Department,  made  his  appearance  at  the  Sur- 
ratt house  a  few  minutes  later,  sent  under  orders  to  su- 
perintend the  seizure  of  papers  and  the  arrest  of  the  in- 
mates. While  the  officers  were  in  the  house  a  knock  and 
ring  were  heard  at  the  door,  and  Mr.  Morgan  and  Cap- 
tain Wermerskirch  stepped  forward  and  opened  the  door, 
and  Lewis  Payne  stepped  in  with  a  pickax  over  his  shoul- 
der, dressed  in  a  gray  coat  and  vest  and  black  trousers. 
As  he  had  left  his  hat  in  the  house  of  Secretary  Seward,  he 
had  made  one  out  of  the  sleeve  of  a  shirt  or  the  leg  of  a 
drawers,  pulling  it  over  his  head  like  a  turban.  He  said 
he  wished  to  see  Mrs.  Surratt,  and  when  asked  what  he 
came  that  time  of  night  for,  he  replied  he  came  to  dig 
a  gutter,  as  Mrs.  Surratt  had  sent  for  him  in  the  morning. 
When  asked  where  he  boarded,  he  said  he  had  no  board- 
ing-house, that  he  was  a  poor  man,  who  got  his  living 
with  the  pick.  Mr.  Morgan  asked  him  why  he  came  at 
that  hour  of  the  night  to  go  to  work.  He  said  he  simply 
called  to  find  out  what  time  he  should  go  to  work  in  the 
morning.  When  asked  if  he  had  any  previous  acquaint- 
ance with  Mrs.  Surratt,  he  answered,  "  No,"  but  said  that 
she  knew  he  was  working  around  the  neighborhood  and 
was  a  poor  man,  and  came  to  him.  He  gave  his  age 
as  twenty,  and  was  from  Fauquier  County,  Virginia,  and 
pulled  out  an  oath  of  allegiance,  and  on  it  was,  "  Lewis 


MKS.    SURRATT'S    HOUSE,   604    H    STREET    N.  W.,  WASHINGTON,    D. 

This  house  is  a  three-story  brick.  Basement,  containing  two  rooms,  is  on  a 
level  with  the  pavement.  The  front  one  was  used  as  n  dining-room  and  the 
other  as  a  kitchen.  Second  story  front  room  was  used  as  a  parlor,  and  the 
back  one  by  Mrs.  Surratt  as  a  bedroom.  There  are  three  rooms  in  the 
third  story,  and  two  large  and  one  small  one  in  the  attic. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


OTHER    ATTEMPTS    AT   ASSASSINATION.  65 

Payne,  Fauquier  Co.,  Va."  Mrs.  Surratt  was  asked 
whether  she  knew  him,  and  she  declared  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Payne,  holding  up  her  hands:  "Before  God, 
I  have  never  seen  that  man  before;  I  have  not  hired 
him;  I  do  not  know  anything  about  him."  Mrs.  Sur- 
ratt said  to  Mr.  Morgan :  "  I  am  so  glad  you  officers 
came  here  to-night,  for  this  man  came  here  with  a 
pickax  to  kill  us."  From  Mrs.  Surratt's  house  Payne 
was  taken  to  the  provost-marshal's  office.  Mrs.  Surratt 
was  informed  that  the  carriage  was  ready  to  take  her  to 
the  provost-marshal's  office,  and  she,  with  her  daughter 
Annie,  Miss  Honora  Fitzpatrick,  and  Miss  Olivia  Jen- 
kins (the  latter  two  boarded  at  the  house),  were  driven 
away. 

Dr.  Samuel  Mudd  was  arrested  at  his  home,  Friday 
the  2  ist,  by  Lieutenant  Alexander  Lovett,  and  taken  to 
Washington.  The  main  points  charged  against  Dr. 
Mudd  were  that  he  was  personally  acquainted  with  Booth 
before  the  murder,  and  had  been  seen  in  company  with 
him  and  some  of  the  assassins  upon  several  occasions, 
and  that  he  set  Booth's  broken  leg,  knowing  that  it  was 
he,  though  positively  denying  it  to  the  detectives. 

John  H.  Surratt,  Jr.,  made  his  escape,  leaving  Wash- 
ington the  night  of  the  murder  or  the  following  morn- 
ing, going  direct  to  Canada,  as  proven  beyond  a  doubt 
at  the  trial. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  FLIGHT  AND  CAPTURE  OF  BOOTH  AND  HEROLD,  AND 
THE  CONFINEMENT  OF  THEIR  ASSOCIATES  -  BIOGRA- 
PHIES AND  STATEMENTS. 

MAJOR  A.  C.  RICHARDS,  Superintendent  of  the  Metro- 
politan Police,  who  was  in  Ford's  Theater  when  the 
President  was  shot,  being  satisfied  that  Booth  was  the 
perpetrator  of  the  deed  and  had  taken  flight  across  the 
Navy  Yard  bridge,  was  ready  to  pursue  the  assassin  as 
soon  as  the  Government  would  furnish  the  horses;  but 
owing  to  red  tape,  to  ^vhich  our  Government  is  so  prone, 
the  posse  could  not  leave  Washington  till 


jifter-the  shooting.  A  tapering  peninsula  stretches  down 
through  southern  Maryland  to  Leonardstown,  and  over 
this  course  nearly  two  thousand  soldiers  on  horses  gal- 
loped the  day  after  the  assassination,  bent  on  avenging 
the  murder  of  their  Commander-in-Chief.  The  road 
passed  through  a  section  of  the  Western  Shore  of  Mary- 
land that  possessed  but  very  few  loyal  citizens. 

A  detective  party,  consisting  of  Lee,  D'Angelis,  Cal- 
lahan,  Hoey,  Bostwick,  Harrover,  Bevins,  and  McHenry, 
under  the  personal  command  of  Major  James  R. 
O'Beirne,  embarked  on  a  steamer  at  Washington  for 
Chapel  Point,  on  Tuesday  the  i8th,  reaching  that  point 
in  the  night,  and  immediately  started  for  Port  Tobacco, 
four  miles  distant.  Here  they  heard  that  Herold  had 
visited  the  place  three  weeks  before,  and  told  his  friends 
that  he  intended  fleeing  the  country.  Atzerodt  had  been 

66 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND    HEROLD.  67 

in  the  town  just  prior  to  the  murder.  He  had  been  liv- 
ing with  a  widow,  who  admitted  to  Major  ,0'Beirne 
she  loved  him,  and  refused  to  betray  him,  although  she 
hinted  that  he  had  committed  some  terrible  crime.  Here 
Major  O'Beirne  met  Major  John  M.  Waite,  of  the  8th 
Illinois  Cavalry,  who  had  pushed  on  south  to  Leonards- 
town  Monday  night.  Major  O'Beirne  believed  that  the 
fugitive  had  either  pushed  on  for  the  Potomac  or  taken 
to  the  swamps.  The  officers  determined  to  follow  him 
to  the  one  and  to  explore  the  other.  Fourteen  hundred 
cavalry  were  collected  here,  seven  hundred  men  of  the 
8th  Illinois  Cavalry,  six  hundred  of  the  22d  Colored 
Troops,  and  one  hundred  men  of  the  i6th  New  York 
Cavalry.  This  force  dismounted  and  swept  the  swamps. 
Major  O'Beirne's  description  of  this  section  is  dismal 
indeed.  He  said:  "  The  swamps  tributary  to  the  various 
branches  of  the  Wicomico  River,  of  which  the  chief 
feeder  is  Allen's  Creek,  bear  various  names,  such  as  Jor- 
dan's Swamp,  Atchall's  Swamp,  and  Scrub  Swamp. 
These  are  dense  growths  of  dogwood,  gum,  and  beech, 
planted  in  sluices  of  water  and  bog.  Frequent  deep 
ponds  dot  this  wilderness  place,  with  here  and  there  a 
stretch  of  dry  soil,  but  no  human  being  inhabits  the  ma- 
larious expanse;  even  a  hunted  murderer  would  shrink 
from  hiding  there.  Serpents  and  slimy  lizards  are  the 
only  living  denizens.  Not  even  the  hunted  negro  dared 
to  fathom  the  treacherous  clay,  nor  make  himself  a  fellow 
of  the  slimy  reptiles  which  reign  absolute  in  this  terrible 
solitude."  Around  this  dismal  place  the  soldiers  made 
a  thorough  search  for  the  President's  assassins,  but  no 
trace  of  them  could  anywhere  be  found.  Major  O'Beirne 
started  for  Leonardstown  with  his  detective  force,  in- 
quiring at  the  farmhouses.  Meeting  a  colored  man,  he 
was  given  by  him  sufficient  information  to  warrant  the 


68  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

belief  that  Booth  had  crossed  the  river.  On  Satur- 
day night  the  major  with  his  detectives  crossed  the 
Potomac  to  Boone's  farm,  where  the  fugitives  were 
supposed  to  have  landed.  The  party  was  tired  out, 
and  all  stopped  for  the  night  except  Major  O'Beirne 
and  one  man,  who  pushed  on  all  night  to  King 
George's  Court-House,  and  next  day,  Sunday,  returned 
to  Chapel  Point,  where  he  telegraphed  his  informa- 
tion and  asked  permission  to  pursue  and  catch  the 
assassins  before  they  reached  Port  Royal.  This  the  De- 
partment refused.  We  can  but  think  that  after  getting 
so  close  to  them  he  ought  to  have  followed  the  trail  and 
captured  them  without  waiting  further  orders.  The 
party  returned  on  the  boat  to  Washington,  reporting 
their  expedition  and  information  gained,  after  which 
Colonel  Lafayette  C.  Baker  decided  upon  a  course, 
writing  a  note  to  Major-General  W.  S.  Hancock,  then 
in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Potomac,  request- 
ing him  to  send  a  detachment  of  twenty-five  cavalry, 
under  charge  of  a  competent,  discreet,  and  reliable  of- 
ficer, to  report  immediately. 

About  2  p.  M.  of  the  24th  Lieutenant  Edward 
Doherty  and  twenty-six  men  of  the  i6th  New  York 
Cavalry  reported  to  Colonel  L.  C.  Baker  at  his  office  on 
Pennsylvania  Avenue,  opposite  Willard's  Hotel.  Colo- 
nel Baker  put  the  command  in  charge  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Everton  J.  Conger  of  Ohio,  and'  Lieutenant  L. 
B.  Baker,  his  cousin,  of  New  York,  and  the  expedition 
left  the  Sixth  Street  wharf  on  board  the  steamer  John  S. 
Ide  about  four  o'clock,  arriving  at  Belle  Plain,  now 
"  Brick  House  landing,"  on  the  border  of  Stafford 
County,  Virginia,  at  ten 'o'clock.  Belle  Plain  is  the  near- 
est landing  to  Fredericksburg,  seventy  miles  from  Wash- 
ington, and  located  on  Potomac  Creek.  After  the 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH  AND   HEROLD.  69 

steamer  tied  up  to  the  wharf  the  cavalry  disembarked 
and  galloped  off  in  the  darkness,  with  Conger  and  Baker 
riding  ahead,  across  the  country,  reaching  Port  Conway 
between  three  and  four  o'clock  the  next  afternoon,  the 
25th.  Here  they  refreshed  themselves  and  fed  their 
horses.  While  resting  here  Lieutenant  Baker  engaged 
in  conversation  with  a  William  Rollins,  living  near  the 
ferry,  who,  after  looking  at  the  photographs  of  Booth 
and  Herold,  recognized  them  as  the  party  who  crossed 
the  ferry  the  day  before,  except  that  Booth  had  no  mus- 
tache. Rollins  informed  Lieutenant  Baker  that  Booth 
and  Herold  wanted  to  be  taken  to  Bowling-  Green,  six- 
teen miles  distant,  and  that  they  started  with  three  Con- 
federate officers  on  horseback.  Lieutenant  Baker  took 
Rollins  along  as  a  guide,  and,  at  his  own  request,  he  was 
arrested  in  order  to  avert  suspicion.  The  expedition  was 
ferried  over  the  river,  and  started  hungry,  sleepy,  and 
tired  for  Bowling  Green,  reaching  the  place  between 
eleven  and  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  It  was  learned  that 
one  of  the  Confederates,  Captain  Jett,  was  stopping  here 
at  the  hotel  owned  by  Henry  Galdman,  whose  daughter 
was  Jett's  sweetheart.  The  building  was  surrounded  and 
Colonel  Conger  and  the  two  officers  entered  it,  found 
their  way  to  Jett's  room,  and  arrested  him.  Jett  was  very 
much  alarmed,  and  seemed  to  know  what  the  intruders 
wanted.  When  he  found  himself  in  the  hands  of  the 
officers,  he  asked  for  a  private  conference,  which  was  held 
for  a  few  minutes,  when  his  horse  was  ordered,  the  bugle 
sounded,  and  back  the  party  started,  over  the  same  route 
they  had  come,  for  Garrett's  farm — a  distance  of  thir- 
teen miles. 

At  2  o'clock  A.  M.,  April  26,  the  deathlike  stillness  of 
the  night  was  broken  by  the  approach  of  the  horsemen 
as  they  entered  and  surrounded  Garrett's  old  farmhouse. 


7O  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


HOME    OF    RICHARD    HENRY    GARRETT. 

Near  Port  Royal,  Va.,  where  Booth  made  his  last  stop. 

If  anyone  had  attempted  to  escape,  a  ring  of  fire  would 
have  encircled  the  house,  for  every  man  had  his  car- 
bine poised.  After  a  pause,  Lieutenant  Baker  rapped  at 
the  kitchen  door,  calling  loudly,  when  an  old  gentleman, 
owner  of  the  farm,  Richard  Henry  Garrett,  dressed  in  his 
night-clothes,  made  his  appearance.  Baker  roughly 
seized  him  by  the  throat  with  one  hand  and  with  the 
other  held  a  pistol  to  his  head.  The  old  man  was  very 
much  frightened  at  seeing  so  many  horses  and  men  near 
his  house,  and  being  so  roughly  handled.  He  could 
scarcely  give  an  intelligent  answer  to  Lieutenant  Baker's 
questions  as  to  where  the  men  were  that  stayed  with 
him.  He  was  ordered  to  get  a  candle,  and  the  old  gen- 
tleman did  so  as  quickly  as  possible,  when  Lieutenant 
Baker  again  asked  him  where  the  men  were.  "  They 
are  gone,"  he  said.  "  We  haven't  got  them  in  the  house. 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH   AND   HEROLD.  71 

I  assure  you  that  they  are  gone."  At  this  time  a  young 
man,  Jack  Garrett,  appeared  very  suddenly  upon  the 
scene,  saying:  "  Father,  we  had  better  tell  the  truth  about 
the  matter.  Those  men  whom  you  seek,  gentlemen,  are 
in  the  tobacco  house,  I  know.  They  went  there  to 
sleep."  A  guard  was  left  with  Mr.  Garrett,  and  when 
the  cavalry  reached  the  barn  they  were  dismounted,  the 
horses  sent  to  the  rear,  and  the  men  were  stationed 
around  the  barn,  about  thirty  feet  from  it  on  three  sides, 
the  front  side  being  left  clear.  The  barn  contained  in 
one  corner  a  lot  of  furniture  covered  with  hay.  The 
building  stood  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  house. 
The  guards  were  stationed  about  ten  yards  distant  from 
the  building,  with  four  of  them  at  the  door.  The  door 
was  locked  with  a  padlock,  and,  while  the  key  was  being 
secured,  a  rustling  noise  could  be  heard  inside.  Lieu- 
tenant Baker  notified  the  parties  within  that  he  had  a 
proposal  to  make;  that  a  son  of  the  man  whose  hospital- 
ity they  had  enjoyed  would  enter,  and  they  should  give 
up  their  arms  or  the  building  would  be  fired. 

Lieutenant  Baker  gave  me  a  verbal  account  some 
years  before  he 'died  of  what  happened,  and  it  varied  but 
little  from  his  report  made  after  reaching  Washington. 
There  was  no  reply  to  Baker's  proposal,  so  he  unlocked 
the  door  and  pushed  the  boy  in.  He  wore  the  uniform  of 
a  Confederate  soldier,  had  faced  the  cannon's  mouth  and 
charged  the  Yankee  soldiers,  but  this  was  more  like  death 
than  anything  that  he  had  met  before.  Young  Garrett 
appealed  in  low  tones  for  their  surrender,  but  Booth 
replied,  "  —  -  you !  get  out  of  here ;  you  have  betrayed 
me."  The  boy  did  not  tarry  long,  for  the  door  was 
opened  and  he  was  let  out.  The  officers  were  in  full 
view  of  and  exposed  to  a  possible  shot  from  Booth  and 
Herold,  for  the  candle,  still  burning,  shone  through  the 


/2  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

cracks  of  the  barn;  but,  it  being  dark  inside,  the  fugitives 
could  not  be  seen.  When  the  soldiers  observed  this,  the 
officers  removed  the  candle;  but  those  surrounding  the 
building  still  exhibited  considerable  uneasiness,  and, 
when  this  was  noticed,  Baker  repeated  his  demands  for 
a  surrender.  "  You  must  surrender  inside  there !  Give 
up  your  arms  and  appear;  there  is  no  chance  for  escape. 
We  give  you  five  minutes  to  make  up  your  mind." 
"  Who  are  you,  and  what  do  you  want  with  us?  "  came 
out  in  a  bold  voice  that  could  be  heard  by  everyone 
around,  even  to  the  house.  Baker  replied:  "We  want 
you  to  deliver  up  your  arms  and  become  our  prisoners." 
"But  who  are  you?"  hallooed  the  same  voice.  "That 
makes  no  difference;  we  know  who  you  are,  and  we  want 
you.  We  have  fifty  men,  armed  with  carbines  and  pis- 
tols. You  cannot  escape."  After  quite  a  pause  Booth 
said:  "Captain,  this  is  a  hard  case,  I  swear.  Perhaps 
I  am  being  taken  by  my  own  friends."  Booth  then 
asked  for  time  to  consider,  and  it  was  granted. 

What  fearful  and  anxious  moments  those  were  to 
Booth!  What  a  part  he  was  enacting  in  the  last  scene 
of  the  great  play  of  his  life!  His  immediate  audience  was 
small  in  numbers,  but  the  people  of  a  nation  were  watch- 
ing the  scene  with  throbbing  hearts.  He  must  have 
thought  of  the  plaudits  received  so  many  times  from  ap- 
preciative audiences,  while  the  memory  of  a  mother  and 
brothers  flashed  upon  him.  No  one  will  ever  know  what 
really  passed  through  his  mind  during  those  few  mo- 
ments of  reprieve. 

The  time  being  up,  Lieutenant  Baker  said:  "Well, 
we  have  waited  long*  enough.  Surrender  your  arms  and 
come  out,  or  we'll  fire  the  barn."  Booth  answered,  "  I 
am  but  a  cripple,  a  one-legged  man.  Withdraw  your 
forces  one  hundred  yards  from  the  door,  and  I  will  go 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND   HEROLD.  73 

out.  Give  me  a  chance  for  my  life,  captain,  for  I  will 
never  be  taken  alive."  "  We  did  not  come  here  to  fight, 
but  to  capture  you,  and  if  you  do  not  come  out  I  will 
fire  the  barn."  A  sigh  could  be  heard  from  the  inside, 
when  Booth  said:  "  Well,  my  brave  boys,  you  can  prepare 
a  stretcher  for  me!"  The  first  conversation  between 
Booth  and  Herold  was  then  heard,  when  Booth  said: 
"  You're  a  -  -  coward,  and  mean  to  leave  me  in  my 
distress;  but  go,  go!  I  don't  want  you  to  stay — I  won't 
have  you  stay!  "  Then  he  shouted:  "  There's  a  man  in- 
side who  wants  to  surrender!  "  "  Let  him  come  out,  if 
he  will  bring  his  arms."  A  rattle  at  the  door  was  heard, 
and  a  voice  saying:  "  Let  me  out;  open  the  door;  I  want 
to  surrender."  "  Hand  out  your  arms  then."  "  I  have 
no  arms."  "  You  are  the  man  who  carried  the  carbine 
yesterday;  hand  it  out!"  In  a  whining  voice  he  re- 
plied, "  I  haven't  got  any."  Booth  cried  out,  "  He 
has  not  any  arms;  they  are  mine,  and  I  have  kept 
them."  "  Well,  he  carried  the  carbine,  and  must  bring 
it  out."  "  On  the  word  and  honor  of  a  gentleman,  he  has 
no  arms  with  him.  They  are  mine,  and  I  have  got  them." 
Herold  was  pleading  at  the  door  to  be  let  out,  when  he 
was  told  to  put  out  his  hands,  and  the  door  was  opened 
just  far  enough  for  his  two  arms  to  protrude,  when  hand- 
cuffs were  placed  upon  them  and  he  was  quickly  jerked 
out.  He  was  immediately  given  into  the  hands  of  a 
squad  of  cavalrymen.  He  positively  and  constantly 
claimed  that  he  was  innocent,  but  was  made  to  cease  his 
talking.  Booth  now  made  a  last  appeal  for  a  chance 
for  his  life.  "  Draw  off  your  men,  and  I  will  fight  them 
singly.  I  could  have  killed  half  a  dozen  of  your  men 
to-night;  but  I  believe  you  to  be  brave  men,  and  would 
not  murder  you.  Give  a  lame  man  a  show." 

Too  late!     Before  he  had  uttered  the  last  sentence 


74 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Colonel  Conger  made  a  rope  of  straw,  set  it  on  fire, 
thrust  it  inside  on  top  of  a  little  pile  of  hay  in  the 
corner,  and  a  sheet  of  flame  and  smoke  soon  leaped  up 
from  the  rear  of  the  building.  The  barn  was  so  bril- 
liantly lighted  that  an  inventory  could  have  been  taken 
of  the  farm  implements  and  furniture  that  were  within. 
There,  in  the  middle  of  the  building,  Booth  was  seen 
standing  erect,  one  arm  over  his  crutch,  assisting  the 
other  in  holding  his  carbine.  As  the  blaze  came  toward 
him  he  stepped  nearer  the  door.  The  flames  inside  only 
concealed  from  his  view  those  outside.  He  peered  at  the 
cracks  of  the  building  as  if  to  get  a  shot  at  someone  out- 
side, but  the  opportunity  did  not  come  to  him. 

An  unexpected  shot  came  from  a  pistol  in  the 
steady  hand  of  Sergeant  Corbett,  and  Booth  sank  down 
limp  upon  the  barn  floor,  when  the  door  was  opened 
and  the  soldiers  rushed  in  and  dragged  him  out.  He 


BOOTH    STANDING    IN    THE    BARN    WHILE    IT    IS    BURNING. 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND   HEROLD. 


75 


was  laid  on  the  grass  for  a  few  minutes,  then  car- 
ried to  the  front  porch  of  the  house.  He  was  ap- 
parently dead,  but  after  some  water  had  been  dashed 
in  his  face  he  revived  somewhat,  and  was  noticed  to  move 


THE    OFFICERS    AND    SOLDIERS    DRAGGING    BTOOH    OUT     OF     THE    BURNING 
BARN    AFTER    HE    WAS    SHOT. 

his  lips,  when  an  officer  put  his  ear  down  to  his  face 

and  heard  him  say:  "Tell  my  mother '      There  was 

a  pause  of  nearly  a  minute  before  he  could  get  sufficient 
vitality  to  say  what  he  wanted  to,  but  he  began  again: 
"  Tell  my  mother  I  died  for  my  country,  and  " — the  voice 
sank  into  a  whisper,  so  that  the  officers  were  compelled 
to  bend  down  in  order  to  hear  his  finishing  words — "  I 
did  what  I  thought  was  best."  He  could  say  no  more. 
His  arms  lay  by  his  side,  and,  not  being  able  to  move 
them,  he  asked  that  they  be  raised  so  that  he  could  see 


76  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

his  hands.  The  officers  raised  them  up;  he  looked  at 
them,  and  as  they  were  laid  down  he  said,  very  faintly, 
"  Useless,  useless !  "  These  were  his  last  words. 

He  received  the  fatal  shot  at  fifteen  minutes  past  three 
on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  April,  and,  after  lingering 
two  hours  and  a  quarter  in  terrible  agony,  died,  just  as 
the  morning  sun  brilliantly  lighted  up  the  awful  scene. 
From  the  time  he  shot  the  President  until  he  died  in  the 
very  State  whose  motto  he  had  disgraced,  he  had  not  a 
moment's  peace  or  comfort. 

While  lying  on  the  porch  of  the  stranger  who  had  be- 
friended him  he  had  time  for  reflection.  High  medical 
authority  says  it  was  a  living,  active  mind  within  a  help- 
less, paralyzed  body,  accompanied  by  most  excruciating, 
agonizing  pain  that  a  human  being  can  be  subject  to. 
From  the  moment  the  ball  struck  him  he  was  helpless, 
with  a  mind  clear  in  intense  suffering — a  living  witness 
of  his  own  just  punishment  for  his  atrocious  deed.  Could 
the  end  of  such  a  life  be  more  painful,  more  dreadful, 
of  more  appalling? 

Physically  Booth  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the 
sole  of  his  foot  was  without  blemish.  As  seen  on  the 
streets — his  symmetrical  form  of  faultless  height  and  pro- 
portions; his  dark  flashing  eye;  his  marble  forehead, 
crowned  by  a  head  of  curling  black  hair;  a  youth  of 
agility  and  graceful  enough  for  a  statue  of  Apollo— he 
was  the  handsomest  man  in  Washington,  and  the  graces 
sat  on  him  externally  in  strange  contrast  to  those  of  his 
victim.  Behind  the  footlights  and  among  the  flashy  set- 
tings of  the  stage  he  was  admired  by  an  enthusiastic 
audience,  evidencing  how  much  wickedness  may  lurk 
under  the  most  beautiful  form. 

Sergeant  Boston  Corbett  wrote  me  an  account  of  his 
shooting  Booth:  "When  the  fire  approached  Booth, 


CAPTURE  OF  BOOTH  AND  HE HOLD. 


77 


standing  in  the  middle  of  the  barn,  he  stepped  toward 
the  door,  and  I  supposed  that  he  was  going  to  fight  his 
way  out.  I  was  told  by  one  of  the  men  that  he  pointed 
his  carbine  at  me.  My  mind  was  upon  his  movements  all 


<: To  BOWLING  <3>REtN  To  PORT  RoxM. 

13  MILIS. .M,a.vn.  KoaxV. 

PLAN  OF  GARRETT'S  PLACE. 

1.  Door  of  barn  through  which  Booth  was  brought. 

2.  Corner  of  barn  which  was  fired. 

3.  Where  Booth  stood. 

4.  Where  Boston  Corbett  stood. 

5.  Door  of  kitchen  of  house  where  Baker  met  Garrett. 

6.  Front  porch,  on  which  Booth  died. 

7.  Corn  cribs,  where  the  two  Garrett  boys  slept. 

the  time,  and  I  was  afraid  that  he  would  shoot  someone, 
as  he  said  he  could  have  shot  half  a  dozen  soldiers.  I 
became  convinced  that  it  was  time  for  me  to  shoot,  and 


78  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

I  took  a  steady  aim  on  my  arm  with  my  revolver  and, 
through  a  large  crack  in  the  barn,  shot  him.  When  he 
was  brought  out,  I  found  that  the  wound  was  made  in 
the  neck,  back  of  the  ear,  and  came  out  a  little  higher  up 
on  the  other  side  of  the  head." 

There  was  no  vehicle  about  the  Garrett  farm  that  could 
be  used  for  the  transportation  of  Booth's  body,  so  an 
officer  and  several  soldiers  went  out  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
toward  Bowling  Green  road,  and  pressed  into  service 
an  old  ambulance  owned  by  a  colored  man  by  the 
name  of  Edward  Freeman.  This  ambulance  had  seen 
service  upon  many  a  battlefield,  for  it  was  in  a  di- 
lapidated condition  at  the  time.  Booth's  body  was 
sewed  up  in  an  army  blanket,  lashed  to  a  board,  and 
put  in  the  ambulance,  and  the  procession  started,  cross- 
ing the  Rappahannock  at  Port  Royal  on  the  same  boat 
over  which  Booth  and  the  soldiers  had  crossed  but  a  few 
days  before.  All  went  well  until,  about  halfway  between 
the  ferry  and  the  boat  at  Belle  Plain,  eighteen  miles 
distant,  the  old  ambulance  broke  down.  There  was 
no  time  or  inclination  to  stop  for  repairs,  so  a  new  ve- 
hicle was  pressed  into  service,  and  the  journey  contin- 
ued, Edward  Freeman  returning  home  with  his  horses, 
leaving  the  old  ambulance,  dripping  for  the  last  time  with 
human  blood,  to  decay  by  the  roadside.  Belle  Plain  was 
reached,  and  the  boat  started  on  its  return  to  Washing- 
ton. Lieutenant-Colonel  Conger  reached  Washington 
by  an  overland  route  about  5  P.  M.  on  the  26th,  imme- 
diately informing  Colonel  Baker  of  the  capture.  The 
two  then  went  to  the  house  of  Secretary  Stanton  and  in- 
formed him.  The  Secretary  directed  Colonel  Baker  to 
take  a  tug  and  go  to  Alexandria  and  meet  the  steamer 
that  was  bringing  the  body  up.  The  steamer  Ide  reached 
Alexandria  at  10.40  on  the  26th,  and  Herold  and  the  body 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND    HEROLD.  79 

of  Booth  were  transferred  to  the  tug  on  which  Baker 
went  down.  The  officer  of  the  monitor  Mont  auk  stated 
that  at  1.45  A.  M.,  27th,  a  tug  came  alongside,  on  board 
of  which  was  Colonel  Baker,  the  detective,  with  a  dead 
body,  said  to  be  that  of  J.  Wilkes  Booth.  Said  body  was 
placed  on  board  for  safekeeping.  Herold  was  put  in 
double  irons  and  placed  in  the  hold  of  the  vessel.  The 
body  of  Booth  was  taken  out  of  the  blanket  in  which  it 
had  been  securely  wrapped  before  leaving  Garrett's  farm, 
and  placed  on  deck  in  charge  of  a  guard.  Commodore 
J.  B.  Montgomery,  commandant  at  the  Navy  Yard,  sent 
a  message  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  (Gideon  Welles) 
April  27: 

David  E.  Herold,  prisoner,  and  the  remains  of  Wilkes  Booth 
were  delivered  here  at  1.45  this  morning.  The  body  of  Booth 
is  changing  rapidly.  What  disposition  shall  be  made  of  it?  It 
is  now  on  board  the  iron-clad  Montauk. 

On  the  27th  an  order  was  issued  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  to  the  commandant  of  the  Navy  Yard  permit- 
ting Surgeon-General  Barnes  and  his  assistant,  accom- 
panied by  Judge-Advocate-General  Holt,  Hon.  John.  A. 
Bingham,  Major  Eckhert,  William  G.  Moore,  clerk  of 
the  War  Department,  Colonel  L.  C.  Baker,  Lieutenant 
Baker,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Conger,  Charles  Dawson, 
J.  L.  Smith,  Mr.  Gardner,  photographer,  and  an  as- 
sistant, T.  H.  O'Sullivan,  to  go  on  board  the  Montauk 
and  see  the  body  of  John  Wilkes  Booth.  The  Secretary 
ordered  as  follows: 

Immediately  after  the  Surgeon-General  has  made  his  autopsy, 
you  will  have  the  body  placed  in  a  strong  box  and  deliver  it  to 
the  charge  of  Colonel  Baker,  the  box  being  carefully  sealed. 

In  order  that  the  body  should  be  identified  beyond  a 
doubt,  Dr.  J.  F.  May,  a  physician  of  Washington,  who  had 


80  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


POST-MORTEM    ON    BOOTH'S    BODY    ON    THE    MONITOR    "MONTAUK." 

some  two  years  before  removed  a  tumor  from  Booth's 
neck,  readily  found  the  scar.  His  body  was  fully  identi- 
fied by  his  initials  on  his  arm  in  India  ink,  and  by  the 
personal  recognitions  of  those  who  knew  him  intimately. 
Surgeon-General  Barnes,  with  an  assistant,  cut  from 
Booth's  neck  a  section  of  the  spine  through  which  the  ball 
passed,  and  this  was  the  only  mutilation  of  the  body  that 
occurred.  On  the  2/th  Colonel  Baker  received  instruc- 
tions from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  make  a  secret  burial 
of  Booth.  At  2.45  the  same  day  Colonel  Baker  quietly 
took  the  body  away,  leaving  the  officers  at  the  Navy 
Yard  astonished  at  its  sudden  departure.  The  com- 
mandant called  for  an  explanation  from  the  marine  of- 
ficer, but  he  only  reported  that  the  body  was  so  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  removed  to  the  boat  which  con- 
veyed it  away  that  he  had  no  opportunity  of  reporting  be- 
fore the  work  was  accomplished.  He  said:  "This  un- 
usual transaction  deprived  me  of  the  opportunity  of  in- 
closing the  body  in  a  box  prepared  for  it,  as  ordered  by 


PS 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
/ERSITYoflLLlN. 


CAPTURE   OF    BOOTH   AND    HEROLD.  83 

the  Department.  The  box  is  now  on  board  the  Mont  auk, 
and  ready  for  delivery  when  called  for."  Colonel  Baker, 
with  the  assistance  of  Lieutenant  L.  B.  Baker  and  sailors 
to  row  the  boat,  took  the  body  down  the  Eastern  Branch, 
and  around  to  the  landing  on  the  west  side  of  the  Arse- 
nal grounds,  into  the  old  penitentiary.  The  lower 
ground-floor  cells  of  that  building  were  rilled  with  fixed 
ammunition,  stored  there  by  the  Ordnance  Department. 
One  of  the  largest  of  these  cells  was  cleared  of  ammuni- 
tion, a  large  flat  stone  lifted  from  its  place,  and  a  grave 
dug,  the  body  being  placed  in  a  pine  gun  box.  It  was 
then  lowered  in  and  the  grave  filled  up,  the  stone  re- 
placed, and  the  body  rested,  known  to  but  a  few  persons, 
until  February,  1869,  when  President  Andrew  Johnson 
gave  Edwin  Booth  permission  to  have  it  removed  to 
Baltimore. 

When  Mrs.  Surratt  was  arrested  she  was  taken  to  the 
Old  Capitol  Prison,  and  during  her  stay  there  was  per- 
mitted to  associate  with  other  prisoners  confined  there 
for  various  offenses  against  the  Government.  She  was 
finally  transferred  to  one  of  the  monitors,  where  she  was 
placed  in  close  confinement,  with  the  other  conspirators. 
A  lady  prisoner  at  Old  Capitol  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  Mrs.  Surratt's  departure:  "One  of  the  officers 
entered  the  prison  and  said:  'Mrs.  Surratt,  you  are 
wanted.  You  will  put  on  your  bonnet  and  cloak,  if  you 
please,  and  follow  me.'  Mrs.  Surratt  arose  silently,  but 
tremblingly,  and  going  to  her  own  room  arrayed  herself 
as  directed.  She  returned  in  a  few  moments,  her  daughter 
Annie  clinging  to  her,  and  begging  to  be  allowed  to  ac- 
company her,  which  request  was  refused.  Mrs.  Surratt 
kissed  each  one  of  us,  and  when  she  came  to  me,  she 
threw  her  arms  around  my  neck,  and  said  in  ar  agi- 
tated voice :  '  Pray  for  me,  pray  for  me.'  " 


84  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

April  1 8  Lewis  Payne  was  delivered  at  the  Navy  Yard 
and  placed  on  board  the  monitor  Saugus,  in  double 
irons,  and,  on  the  day  following,  Samuel  Arnold  was  put 
on  board  the  same  vessel.  On  the  2oth  Atzerodt  and 
his  brother-in-law,  Hartmann  Richter,  were  placed  on 
board  at  u  P.  M.,  but,  upon  the  receipt  of  a  request  from 
the  vSecretary  of  War,  Atzerodt  was  separated  from  his 
brother-in-law  and  put  on  board  the  Montauk.  Ned 
Spangler  was  taken  from  the  Old  Capitol  Prison  on  the 
24th  and  placed  on  the  monitor.  At  10.30  P.  M.  of  the 
29th  of  April  the  commandant  of  the  Navy  Yard  deliv- 
ered all  the  prisoners  to  General  Hancock.  While  they 
were  on  the  monitors  the  Secretary  of  War  ordered 
for  better  security  against  conversation,  "  and  they  shall 
have  a  canvas  bag  put  on  the  head  of  each,  and  tied 
around  the  neck,  with  a  hole  for  proper  breathing  and 
eating,  but  not  seeing,"  and  that  Payne  be  secured  to 
prevent  self-destruction.  An  order  was  also  issued  pro- 
hibiting any  person  holding  communication  with  the 
prisoners  confined  on  the  boats  without  a  pass  signed 
jointly  by  the  Secretary  of  War  and  Secretary  of  the 
Navy. 

The  credit  of  the  capture  of  Booth  and  Herold  was 
given  to  Colonel  Baker's  force  by  the  Secretary  of  War. 
As  the  War  Department  had  offered  large  rewards  for 
the  capture  of  the  assassins,  many  of  those  engaged 
in  the  search  made  demands  for  a  portion  of  it.  A 
commission  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  War, 
composed  of  General  J.  Holt,  Judge-Advocate-General, 
and  Adjutant-General  E.  D.  Townsend,  to  whom  were 
referred  all  the  applications,  statements,  affidavits,  and 
papers  forwarded  by  those  making  claims.  Some  per- 
sons who  were  merely  engaged  in  the  search,  and  could 
not  show  a  particle  of  testimony,  put  in  for  a  large  slice 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH   AND   HEROLD.  8$ 

of  the  reward.    Three  months  were  spent  in  making  the 
examination  of  persons  and  papers,  when  the  Secretary 

War  Department.  Washington.  April  20. 1865 


sioo.000 


Of  oar  late  beloved  President  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN, 

IS  STILL  AT  LARGE. 

S5O.OOO   REWARD! 

will  be  paid  by  Iblc    Oip.rtn.rnt  for  bin  apprrhr  ii-inn.  in  addition  lo  any  reward  offered] 
kj  Mnirlpal  Antborllir.  or  *U»«e  E»rrolivr«. 

$25,OOO    REWARD! 

will  br  paid  for  Ihr  apprehrn.ion  of  JOHN    H.  Bl  RR4TT.  one  ol  Booth*.  arrompllre*. 

$25,OOO    REWARD! 

nillbr  paidforlhrHpprrlirii.lonol  DANIEL  C  HARHOLD  anoti.rr  ol  Booth'- a<-roni|>lirrt. 

I  IKtmi  REWARDS  win  b..jwld  lor  »y  lolorm.ilinu  Ibal  Khali  condare  to  Ibr  arm!  ol  rllher 
ol  Ibr  afcovr.naned  rrlailaaK  or  larTr  ar.omi.il,  r^ 

AM  prrftoM  barborlaff  or  nrrrrtlnff  la.  -mid  per*onH.  or  rllhrr  of  tbrro.  or  aidine  or  nfi«lKtin|r  Ihrlr 
conr-  »lnn.t  or  I-M-U|..  .  "Ill  br  lr.  •!•  •!  ii«  a<-romvllri->  iu  Hi,  mardir  ol  Ihr  I'r,  -,.l,  ,.l  nnd  Ihr  .,11.  ni|.l.  ,1 
««M.«i,,aiH.n  ol  Ibr  Nerrrtar;  ol  Ntnlc.  «i,cl  -b«ll  br  tabji-r!  to  Irinl  Itrlorr  it  Military  <'oniml*«u>ii  and 
Ihr  pttaKhneiil  ,,l  UKAl'B. 

!.••<  Ihr  -t..m  ol  Innixreat  Mood  br.  r.-mo«rd  (r.nn  Ilir  l.tocl  by  (!„•  arrr«l  and  pnnisbiui  ul  ol  Ibr 
ororilrren*. 

All  (ood  HllariA  arr  rxhortrd  lo  aid  puhllr  JaMirr  oa  thin  ,.,.». Ion.  t>rry  man  »bonld  ronnlder 
kin  ova  ••ODM-lrucf  rburc,  d  wllb  IhU  M>lrmn  doty,  anil  rn.1  nrillii-r  nirbl  nor  day  until  it  be  aocomulisbed. 

EDWIN  91.  vi  t  >TO\.  stwinri/  of  War. 

HBO  r    MCKBITt  A  CO.  Pri.ttr.u4  txit~.cn.  cor    P.ul   ud  FiK  8rr««.  H  Y. 

REWARD  BILL  FOR  THE  APPREHENSION  OF  BOOTH,  SURRATT,   AND 
HEROLD. 

of  War  limited  the  time  of  filing  claims  to  January,  1866. 
After  that  date  another  three  months  were  spent,  when 
the  commission  finally  made  their  report,  giving  the  en- 
tire credit  of  the  capture  to  Colonel  Baker's  force  and 


86  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

allowing  him  a  small  portion  of  the  reward;  but,  owing 
to  so  much  dissatisfaction  expressed  among  the  appli- 
cants, the  whole  matter  was  referred  to  Congress,  and 
from  there  to  the  Committee  on  Claims.  That  com- 
mittee, being  very  busy,  referred  the  whole  matter  to  the 
Hon.  George  W.  Hotchkiss  of  New  York.  Another 
long  delay  occurred,  when  the  Committee  on  Claims  re- 
ported as  follows: 

The  Committee  further  report  that  the  expeditions  which 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  Booth  and  Herold  were  planned  and 
directed  by  Colonel  Lafayette  C.  Baker,  then  a  detective 
officer  in  the  War  Department,  the  forces  consisting  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Everton  J.  Conger,  Lieutenant  Luther  B.  Baker, 
then  in  the  detective  service,  Lieutenant  Edward  P.  Doherty, 
and  twenty-six  privates  and  non-commissioned  officers  of  the 
i6th  New  York  Cavalry.  And  the  Committee  further  report 
that  Major  James  R.  O'Beirne,  then  provost-marshal  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  General  H.  H.  Wells,  then  under  General 
C.  C.  Augur's  command,  Captain  George  Cottingham,  and 
Alexander  Lovett,  detectives,  and  Samuel  H.  Beckwith,  a  tele- 
graph operator  at  Chapel  Point,  rendered  important  service  lead- 
ing to  the  arrest  of  Booth  and  Herold,  and  the  committee  regard 
them  as  coming  within  the  terms  of  the  offer  of  the  reward. 
The  committee  do  not  regard  the  capture  of  Booth  and  Herold 
as  purely  military  service,  and  do  not  feel  bound  to  award  com- 
pensation to  mere  rank,  without  regard  to  the  extent  and  merit 
of  the  service  performed,  but  look  to  the  rank  and  position  of 
the  officers  engaged  in  such  service  as  evidence  of  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  them,  and  the  duty  imposed  upon  them  to  exer- 
cise greater  care,  skill,  and  diligence  than  persons  in  a  sub- 
ordinate position.  And  the  committee  further  report,  after 
careful  consideration  of  the  evidence  presented  to  them  of  the 
service  of  the  respective  parties  engaged  in  the  capture  of 
Booth  and  Herold,  in  their  opinion  the  sum  of  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars  reward  for  the  capture  of  Booth  and  Herold 
should  be  distributed  as  follows. 

The  report  of  this  committee  was  still  unsatisfactory 
to  a  majority  of  those  claiming  rewards.  The  amount 


CAPTURE  OF  BOOTH  AND   HEROLD.  87 

to  the  credit  of  Colonel  Baker  and  Colonel  Conger  was 
$17,500  each.  So  much  dissatisfaction  prevailed  that  the 
report  was  submitted  to  Congress,  and  the  lobbyists  and 
interested  parties  went  to  work  with  the  members  of 
Congress.  The  final  result  of  the  action  of  that  body 
was  the  disapproval  of  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Claims,  substituting  the  following  sums: 

E.  J.  Conger,  detective, $15,000.00 

Lafayette  C.  Baker,  detective,       .        .        .        .        .       3,750.00 

Luther  B.  Baker,  detective, 3,000  oo 

Lieutenant    Edward    P.    Doherty,    in    command    of 

the  cavalry, 5,250.00 

James  R.  O'Beirne,  detective 2,000.00 

H.  H.  Wells,  George  Cottingham,  Alexander  Lovett, 
each  $1,000,  ........       3,000.00 

Sergeant  Boston  Corbett,  Sergeant  Andrew  Wendell, 
Corporal  Charles  Zimmer,  Corporal  Michael  Uniac, 
Corporal  John  Winter,  Corporal  Herman  Newgar- 
ten,  Corporal  John  Walz,  Corporal  Oliver  Lonpay, 
Corporal  Michael  Hormsbey,  Privates  John  Myers, 
John  Ryan,  William  Byrne,  Philip  Hoyt,  Martin 
Kelley,  Henry  Putnam,  Frank  McDaniel,  Lewis 
Savage,  Abraham  Genay,  Emery  Parady,  David 
Baker,  William  McQuade,  John  Millington,  Fred- 
erick Dietz,  John  H.  Singer,  Carl  Steinbrugge,  and 
Joseph  Zisgen,  each  $1,653.85 43,000.00 


$75,000  oo 


Amount  paid  for  the  capture  of  Atzerodt: 


Major  E.  R.  Artman,  2i3th  Pennsylvania  Infantry,        $1,250.00 
Sergeant  Z.  W.  Gemmill,  ist  Delaware  Cavalry,       .       3,598.54 
Christopher   Ross,  David    H.  Baker,  Albert   Bender, 
Samuel  J.  Williams,  George  W.  Young,  James  Long- 
acre,  privates  ist  Delaware  Cavalry,  and  James  W. 
Purdman,  citizen,  each  $2,878.78,       ....     20,151.46 

$25,000.00 


88  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Paid  to  the  captors  of  Payne: 

Major  H.  W.  Smith, $1,000.00 

Richard  C.   Morgan,  Eli  Devore,  Charles  H.  Rosch, 
Thomas  Sampson,  W.  M.  Wermerskirch,  detective, 

each  $500.00,          .        . 2,500.00 

J.  H.  Kimball,  citizen 500.00 

P.  M.  Clark,  citizen,        .         .        .        .        .        .        .  500.00 

Susan  Jackson,  colored, 250.00 

Mary  Ann  Griffin, 250.00 


$5,000.00 

John  Wilkes  Booth  was  born  on  "  The  Farm,"  near 
Baltimore,  in  1838.  His  father,  Junius  Brutus  Booth, 
was  born  near  London,  England,  in  1796,  and  became  a 
famous  actor,  meeting  with  long  and  triumphant  suc- 
cesses upon  the  English  and  American  stage.  He  died 
in  1852,  leaving  four  sons,  Junius  Brutus,  Edwin,  John 
Wilkes,  and  Joseph.  The  three  oldest  were  actors,  and 
the  youngest,  Joseph,  tried  the  stage,  but  failed.  There 
were  also  five  daughters.  John  Wilkes  displayed  much 
affection  for  his  mother  and  sisters,  but  they  had  no  in- 
fluence over  him,  as  he  was  wayward,  headstrong,  and 
disobedient.  He  was  not  fond  of  the  pent-up  life  of  the 
schoolhouse,  but,  instead,  loved  the  enthusiasm  of  hunt- 
ing, fishing,  and  outdoor  sports;  especially  was  he  fond 
of  the  stable,  where  he  learned  to  be  a  graceful  horse- 
man. While  quite  young  he  became  a  lover  of  the  stage, 
but  the  beginning  of  his  career  upon  it  was  not  assuring 
of  success.  He  lacked  enterprise,  and  did  not  study  his 
parts,  so  that  when  he  appeared  upon  the  stage  he  blun- 
dered continually,  and  was  frequently  hissed  while  play- 
ing in  Philadelphia.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  had 
the  reputation  at  first  of  having  no  promise,  but  after 
many  trials  showed  some  talent  and  merited  some  ap- 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH    AND   HEROLD. 


89 


plause.  He  made  his  first  appearance  in  1855  in 
"  Richard  III."  at  the  St.  Charles  Theater  in  Baltimore, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1857  appeared  under  the  name  of 


JOHN   WILKES  BOOTH. 

Wilkes  at  the  Arch  Street  Theater  in  Philadelphia,  where 
he  played  stock  parts  during  the  entire  season.  The 
name  of  Wilkes  was  given  him  by  his  father  in  honor 
of  an  old  Baltimore  friend,  Jim  Wilkes.  Booth  next 
became  a  member  of  the  Richmond  (Va.)  Theater,  im- 
proved, and  became  a  favorite  with  the  Southerners.  He 
was  very  fond  of  the  Southern  people,  and  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  rebellion  sympathized  with  them  and  es- 
poused their  cause. 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


FORD'S  THEATRE 


tfttnrday  Evening,  March  18  1865 


JONATHAN  BRADFORD! 


BENEFIT  Of  )AS.R.O'BRYON, 

•-  of  rOE»  s  THUTRI. 


fti.jowHPioeToi 

IBSENAINOSA  .  IN  NICK  OF  THE  WOODS! 


PLAY  BILL 

of  Ford's  Theater,  March  18, 
1865,  when  J.  Wilkes  Booth 
played  for  the  benefit  of  John 
McCullough.  This  was  the  last 
appearance  of  Booth  on  the 
stage  until  the  night  of  April  14. 


In  1859  he  was  in  a  new  role. 
At  Richmond  he  enlisted  in  a 
company  of  militia,  and  with  his 
company  stood  guard  around  the 
scaffold,  at  Charlestown,  W.  Va., 
on  which  the  old  white-haired 
John  Brown  was  hanged.  Dur- 
ing the  season  of  1860  and  1861 
we  find  him  engaged  still  farther 
South,  playing  chiefly  at  Mont- 
gomery, and  Columbus,  Ga. 
While  he  favored  the  Southern 
cause,  he  did  not  fancy  con- 
scription into  the  Southern  army, 
so  escaped  North.  Unlike  his 
brother  -Edwin  and  many  others 
of  the  profession,  he  was  unwill- 
ing to  start  at  the  foot  of  the 
ladder  and  work  his  way  up  by 
hard  work,  but  wanted  to  make 
fame  at  one  bound.  However, 
he  finally  made  a  success  of  the 
profession,  and  from  eight  dol- 
lars a  week  he  got  half  the  gross 
proceeds  of  many  performances. 
His  favorite  acting  was  tragedy. 
He  was,  by  a  long  period  of 
training,  especially  fitted  to  be- 
come a  graceful  and  dramatic 
murderer.  His  models  were 
great  criminals,  and  he  studied 
their  lives,  their  schemes,  their 
attitude  in  the  commission  of 
crime,  until  in  his  acting  upon  the 
mimic  stage  he  had  become  ac- 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH   AND   HEROLD.  9! 

complished.  Familiarity  with  all  these  things  made  his 
task  comparatively  easy,  and  inspired  him  with  the  spirit 
of  fanaticism,  inciting  him  to  kill  the  President.  It  has 
been  said  that  he  excelled  in  the  part  of  Richard  III.  Did 
he  not  remember  the  tent  scene?  • 

1  My  conscience  hath  a  thousand  several  tongues, 
And  every  tongue  brings  in  a  several  tale, 
And  every  tale  condemns  me  for  a  villain. 
Perjury,  perjury  in  the  highest  degree, 
Murder,  stern  murder,  in  the  direst  degree; 
All  several  sins,  all  used  in  each  degree, 
Throng  to  the  bar,  crying  all — Guilty!  guilty! 
I  shall  despair.     There  is  no  creature  loves  me; 
And,  if  I  die,  no  soul  will  pity  me." 

Upon  several  occasions  he  remarked:  ''What  a  glori- 
ous opportunity  there  is  for  a  man  to  immortalize  himself 
by  killing  Lincoln,"  and  often  quoted  these  lines: 

"  The  ambitious  youth  who  fired  the  Ephesian  dome 
Outlives  in  fame  the  pious  fool  who  reared  it." 

He  had  played  a  number  of  times  at  Ford's  Theater,  and 
was  of  course  well  acquainted  with  its  entrances  and 
exits,  which  accounts  for  the  ease  with  which  he  escaped. 

When  Booth  played  the  part  of  Pescara  in  the  "  Apos- 
tate," at  Ford's  Theater  on  March  18,  1865,  the  last  night 
he  ever  performed  upon  the  stage,  there  were  in  the 
audience  John  H.  Surratt,  Herold,  Atzerodt,  and  John  T. 
Holahan,  who  boarded  at  Mrs.  Surratt's.  Booth  sup- 
plied these  four  with  complimentary  tickets. 

McK.ee  Rankin  tells  an  interesting  incident  that  hap- 
pened a  short  time  before  the  assassination:  "John 
Wilkes  Booth  was  in  Boston  shortly  before  the  as- 
sassination. At  that  time  I  was  acting  at  the  Howard 
Athenaeum,  then  a  leading  theater,  and  I  met  Booth  one 
day  at  the  Tremont  House.  He  was  very  despondent, 
and  said  he  was  going  south.  He  packed  his  theatrical 


92  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

wardrobe,  of  which  he  was  very  proud,  and  shipped  it  for 
safety  to  Montreal  on  a  little  blockade  runner.  Then  he 
bade  us  good-by,  and  left  Boston.  On  the  very  night  he 
shot  Lincoln  that  little  blockade  runner  was  wrecked. 
The  wartirobe  was  finally  taken  from  the  wreck  and  was 
in  the  custody  of  the  admiralty  court  for  a  long  time. 
Then  my  brother  George  purchased  it  at  public  sale,  and 
presented  it  to  me." 

John  McCullough,  the  actor,  once  related  an  incident 
showing  that  Booth  was  constantly  working  upon  his 
plans  for  abducting  the  President.  He  said:  "  Booth  was 
undoubtedly  a  little  insane  in  the  direction  of  the  capture 
of  President  Lincoln.  I  never  was  a  horseback  rider,  but 
Booth  had  a  wandering  mind  and  love  of  physical  ex- 
citement, and  against  my  will  he  got  me  on  a  horse  one 
day.  Instead  of  taking  me  to  the  pleasant  places  around 
Washington,  he  rode  into  byroads  up  along  the  Eastern 
Branch;  and  he  would  show  me  some  uninteresting 
place  and  say:  '  Now,  Johnny,  if  a  fellow  was  in  a  tight 
fix  he  could  slip  right  out  here,  do  you  see?'  'Well,' 
said  I,  '  when  I  leave  Washington  I  shall  leave  on 
the  cars;  I  am  all  raw  now  with  riding  this  old  horse. 
For  God's  sake,  take  me  back  to  the  hotel.'  I  have 
no  doubt,"  continued  the  actor,  "  that  he  was  then 
working  out  his  long-intended  scheme  of  seizing  Lin- 
coln's person  and  carrying  him  through  lower  Mary- 
land into  the  rebel  lines.  At  another  time  I  came  over 
from  New  York  suddenly,  and  being  in  the  habit  of 
going  right  into  Booth's  room  without  knocking,  I 
turned  the  knob  and  pushed  straight  in.  At  the  first 
wink  I  saw  Booth  sitting  behind  a  table,  on  which  was 
a  map,  a  knife,  and  a  pistol.  He  had  gauntlets  on  his 
hands,  spurs  on  his  boots,  and  a  military  hat  of  a  slouch 
character  on  his  head.  As  the  door  opened  he  seized 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND   HEROLD.  93 

that  knife  and  came  for  me.  Said  I,  '  John,  what  in  the 
name  of  sense  is  the  matter  with  you — are  you  crazy?' 
He  heard  my  voice  and  arrested  himself,  and  placed  his 
hands  before  his  eyes  like  a  man  dissipating  a  dream, 
and  then  said:  'Why,  Johnny,  how  are  you?'  When  I 
heard  that  it  was  he  who  killed  Lincoln,  I  thought  that 
he  had  been  at  the  time  I  describe  ready  to  carry  out 
his  purpose.  It  was  at  the  time  of  Lincoln's  second 
inauguration." 

The  diary  taken  from  Booth's  pocket  when  captured 
in  Garrett's  barn  contains  a  few  interesting  notes,  among 
which  are  the  following: 

April  14,  Friday,  the  Ides. — Until  to-day  nothing  was  ever 
thought  of  sacrificing  to  our  country's  wrongs.  For  six  months 
we  had  worked  to  capture,  but  our  cause  being  almost  lost, 
something  decisive  and  great  must  be  done.  But  its  failure 
was  owing  to  others,  who  did  not  strike  for  their  country  with 
a  heart.  I  struck  boldly,  and  not  as  the  papers  say.  I  walked 
with  a  firm  step  through  a  thousand  of  his  friends;  was  stopped, 
but  pushed  on.  A  colonel  was  at  his  side.  I  shouted  "  Sic 
semper"  before  I  fired.  In  jumping  broke  my  leg.  I  passed 
all  his  pickets;  rode  thirty-six  miles  that  night  with  the  bone  of 
my  leg  tearing  the  flesh  at  every  jump.  I  can  never  report  it. 
Though  we  hated  to  kill,  our  country  owed  all  her  troubles  to 
him,  and  God  simply  made  me  the  instrument  of  his  punishment. 
The  country  is  not  what  it  was.  This  forced  Union  is  not  what 
I  have  loved.  I  care  not  what  becomes  of  me.  I  have  no  desire 
to  outlive  my  country.  The  night  before  the  deed  I  wrote  a  long 
article  and  left  it  for  one  of  the  editors  of  the  National  Intelli- 
gencer, in  which  I  fully  set  forth  our  reasons  for  our  proceed- 
ings. He  or  the  South. 

Friday,  21. — After  being  hunted  like  a  dog  through  swamps 
and  woods,  and  last  night  being  chased  by  gunboats  till  I  was 
forced  to  return,  wet,  cold,  and  starving,  with  every  man's  hand 
against  me,  I  am  here  in  despair.  And  why?  For  doing  what 
Brutus  was  honored  for— what  made  William  Tell  a  hero;  and 
yet  I,  for  striking  down  an  even  greater  tyrant  than  they  ever 
knew,  am  looked  upon  as  a  common  cutthroat.  My  act  was 


94  ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

pvrer  than  either  of  theirs.  One  hoped  to  be  great  himself;  the 
other  had  not  only  his  country's,  but  his  own,  wrongs  to  avenge. 
I  hoped  for  no  gain;  I  knew  no  private  wrong.  I  struck  for  my 
country,  and  her  alone.  A  people  ground  beneath  this  tyranny 
prayed  for  this  end,  and  yet  now  see  the  cold  hands  they  extend 
to  me!  God  cannot  pardon  me  if  I  have  done  wrong;  yet  I 
cannot  see  any  wrong,  except  in  serving  a  degenerate  people. 
The  little,  the  verj^  little,  I  left  behind  to  clear  my  name  the 
Government  will  not  allow  to  be  printed.  So  ends  all!  For 
my  country  I  have  given  up  all  that  makes  life  sweet  and  holy 
— to-night  misfortune  upon  my  family,  and  am  sure  there  is  no 
pardon  for  me  in  the  heavens,  since  man  condemns  me  so.  I 
have  only  heard  of  what  has  been  done  (except  what  I  did  my- 
self), and  it  fills  me  with  horror.  God,  try  and  forgive  me  and 
bless  my  mother.  To-night  I  will  once  more  try  the  river,  with 
the  intention  to  cross;  though  I  have  a  greater  desire  and  almost 
a  mind  to  return  to  Washington,  and  in  a  measure  clear  my 
name,  which  I  feel  I  can  do. 

I  do  not  repent  the  blow  I  struck.  I  may  before  my  God,  but 
not  to  man.  I  think  I  have  done  well,  though  I  am  abandoned, 
with  the  curse  of  Cain  upon  me,  when,  if  the  world  knew  my 
heart,  that  one  blow  would  have  made  me  great,  though  I  did 
desire  no  greatness.  To-night  I  try  once  more  to  escape  these 
bloodhounds.  Who,  who,  can  read  his  fate!  God's  will  be 
done.  I  have  too  great  a  care  to  die  like  a  criminal.  Oh!  may 
He  spare  me  that,  and  let  me  die  bravely.  I  bless  the  entire 
world.  I  have  never  hated  nor  wronged  anyone.  This  last 
was  not  a  wrong,  unless  God  deems  it  so,  and  it  is  with  Him  to 
damn  or  bless  me.  And  for  this  brave  boy,  Herold,  here  with 
me,  who  often  prays  (yes,  before  and  since)  with  a  true  and 
sincere  heart,  was  it  crime  in  him?  If  so,  why  can  he  pray 
the  same?  I  do  not  wish  to  shed  a  drop  of  blood,  but  I  must 
fight  the  course.  'Tis  all  that's  left  me. 

Although  speculations  and  theories  as  to  the  motives 
of  Booth  in  assassinating  President  Lincoln  will  never 
come  to  an  end  or  settlement,  it  is  the  author's  opinion 
that  it  was  solely  to  immortalize  himself.  Money  could 
not  have  hired  him  to  do  such  an  act,  but  the  picture  of 
a  famous  name  appeared  before  him,  and  he  could  not 


CAPTURE    OF   BOOTH   AND    HEROLD.  95 

resist  the  temptation  to  grasp  it.  The  original  scheme  of 
kidnaping,  whether  of  his  own  origin  or  that  of  others, 
was  to  abduct  Lincoln,  take  him  South,  and  hold  him 
until  the  supposed  ills  of  the  Confederacy  had  been 
righted.  The  various  plots  having  failed,  and  now  that 
the  cause  of  secession  was  lost,  he  became  desperate. 
The  opportunity  for  fame  for  himself  and  revenge  for  the 
South  was  ebbing  away,  and  when  the  last  opportunity 
presented  itself,  he  grasped  it  with  the  eagerness  of  the 
"  ambitious  youth  who  fired  the  Ephesian  dome." 

The  loyalty  to  the  Union  of  Edwin  Booth,  his 
brother,  was  never  questioned.  Judge  J*W.  Edmonds, 
who  knew  Booth  well,  wrote  him  a  letter  during  the 
period  that  cast  a  shadow  over  his  family  name,  and 
said :  "  All  who  know  you  as  well  as  I  do  will  bear 
testimony  to  your  unwavering  loyalty,  and  accord  you 
their  heartfelt  sympathy  in  suffering  so  peculiar  to  your- 
self, and  flowing  so  fatally  from  causes  which  you  could 
not  control,  and  in  which  you  had  no  participation.  I 
have  been  long  aware  of  your  high  regard  for  the  la- 
mented Lincoln,  and  I  know  you  will  share  deeply  with 
every  loyal  heart  in  the  intense  sorrow  which  his  sudden 
death  has  so  universally  created."  Edwin  Booth  replied 
in  a  feeling  manner,  in  which  he  said:  u  Your  letter  so 
fully  expresses  the  inmost  sentiment  of  my  heart  that  I 
can  only  say,  God  bless  you."  Edwin  Booth  was  modest, 
and  he  had  no  desire  to  show  off,  or  to  make  himself  con- 
spicuous in  a  crowd,  yet  he  appreciated  the  applause 
of  the  public  so  far  as  it  bore  testimony  to  his  success. 
He  was  sincere  in  his  aversion  to  flattery.  His  brother 
John  Wilkes  was  exactly  the  reverse  of  this.  He  was 
more  handsome  than  Edwin,  and  possessed  a  romantic 
style,  being  ever  desirous  of  public  notoriety.  This 
was  best  proven  by  the  remark  at  the  dinner  table  at 


96  ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Garrett's  the  last  day  that  Booth  spent  in  life.  Miss 
Garrett  said  she  thought  the  assassin  of  the  President 
was  well  paid  for  it,  and  he  replied:  "  It  is  my  opinion 
he  wasn't  paid  a  cent,  but  did  it  for  notoriety's  sake." 

Edwin  had  been  playing  an  engagement  at  the  Boston 
Theater,  and  was  to  have  taken  his  farewell  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  day  the  President  died.  When  the  terrible 
intelligence  of  the  murder  of  the  President  by  his  brother 
was  conveyed  to  him,  he  was  prostrated  by  the  great 
affliction  and  could  not  keep  the  engagement.  Edwin 
Booth's  closest  friends  refrained  from  speaking  to  him 
in  after  years  pf  the  awful  deed  that  his  brother  com- 
mitted, and  Harry  Hawk,  who  played  upon  Ford's  stage 
that  night,  for  twenty-nine  years  refused  all  entreaty  to 
tell  the  story,  in  consideration  of  the  feelings  of  his  dear 
friend.  Edwin  Booth  never  played  in  Washington  after 
that  sad  event,  although  he  would  have  received  a  hearty 
reception. 

Junius  Brutus  Booth  came  near  falling  a  sacrifice  for 
his  brother's  crime.  He  was  billed  to  play  in  Cincinnati, 
and  arrived  at  the  Burnet  House  on  the  evening  when 
his  brother  shot  Lincoln.  Emil  Benlier,  then  a  clerk  at 
the  hotel,  describes  the  exciting  event: 

"  Booth  came  downstairs  the  morning  after  the  as- 
sassination, and  after  breakfast  was  on  the  point  of  going 
out  to  take  a  stroll.  I  had  just  heard,  a  few  minutes 
before,  that  the  people  were  in  a  tumult,  and  had  torn 
down  his  bills  all  over  the  city.  He  came  up  to  the  desk, 
and  as  he  did  so  I  informed  him  that  I  thought  it  would 
be  best  for  him  not  to  go  out  in  the  streets.  He  looked 
at  me  in  amazement,  and  asked  what  I  meant.  '  Haven't 
you  heard  the  news?'  said  I.  He  replied  that  he  had 
not.  I  didn't  like  to  say  any  more,  and  he  walked  off, 
looking  greatly  puzzled.  Going  to  a  friend  who  was 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND   HEROLD.  97 

standing  near,  he  asked  in  rather  an  excited  manner  what 
that  young  man  meant  by  talking  that  way,  and  wanted 
to  know  if  I  wasn't  crazy.  The  man  told  him  no,  that 
I  was  the  clerk.  More  mystified  than  ever,  he  returned 
and  demanded  my  reason  for  the  remark.  I  saw  that  he 
was  ignorant  of  the  tragedy,  and  reluctantly  informed 
him  that  his  brother  had  killed  the  President.  He  was 
the  most  horrified  man  that  I  ever  saw,  and  for  the  mo- 
ment he  was  overcome  by  the  shock.  I  suggested  to  him 
that  it  would  be  better  for  him  to  go  to  his  room,  and  he 
did  so,  being  accompanied  by  one  or  two  of  his  friends. 
He  had  scarcely  gone  upstairs  before  the  room  he  left 
was  filled  with  people.  The  mob  was  fully  five  hundred 
in  number,  and  wanted  to  find  Booth.  They  were  per- 
fectly furious,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that 
we  checked  them  by  the  story  that  their  intended  victim 
had  left  the  house.  They  would  have  hanged  him  in  a 
minute  if  they  could  have  laid  hands  upon  him,  so  great 
was  their  rage.  After  leaving  they  returned  almost  im- 
mediately, but  by  this  time  we  had  removed  Booth  from 
his  room  to  that  of  a  friend.  The  mob  watched  the  house 
so  closely  that  it  was  four  or  five  days  before  he  had  a 
chance  to' leave.  We  finally  smuggled  him  away,  how- 
ever." 

He  was  arrested  at  a  later  date  when  visiting  Phila- 
delphia, taken  to  Washington  and  confined  in  the  Old 
Capitol  Prison  for  some  weeks,  and  then  released.* 

Major  Rathbone  was  the  son  of  Mrs.  Rathbone  of 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  by  her  first  husband,  and  Clara  Harris 
was  the  daughter  of  Ira  Harris,  United  States  Senator 

*On  November  25,  1864,  a  performance  was  given  in  New 
York,  the  three  brothers  appearing  together  in  "Julius  Caesar," 
Edwin  playing  Brutus,  Junius  Brutus  playing  Casstus,  and 
John  Wilkes  Mark  Antony. 


98  ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

from  New  York,  by  his  first  wife.  The  surviving  parents 
married,  making  these  two  s.tep-brother  and  sister.  The 
awful  tragedy  which  he  and  Miss  Harris  witnessed  per- 
haps brought  them  into  a  singular  sympathy,  and  in  a 
year  or  two  they  were  married.  They  had  fortune  and 
high  character,  children  were  born  to  them,  and  they 
passed  a  few  years  in  Washington,  respected  by  all;  but 
those  who  were  in  their  especial  intimacy  knew  that 
there  was  a  cloud  always  hanging  over  the  spirit  of  Rath- 
bone.  The  scene  of  that  fearful  night  left  an  impression 
on  his  nerves  from  which  they  never  recovered.  Finally 
the  family  went  abroad,  and  shortly  afterward  the  world 
was  shocked  to  learn  that  Major  Rathbone  had  shot  and 
killed  the  wife  whom  he  had  tenderly  loved. 

Sergeant  Boston  Corbett  was  a  hat  finisher  by  occu- 
pation. The  regiment  to  which  he  belonged  (i6th  New 
York  Cavalry)  was  stationed  at  Vienna,  Va.,  about 
twelve  miles  from  Washington.  They  first  heard  of  the 
assassination  on  Saturday,  the  I5th,  and  the  regiment 
was  immediately  ordered  out  on  a  scout,  but  without 
success.  The  next  day  a  detachment  was  sent  to  Wash- 
ington to  be  in  readiness  to  scour  the  country  for  the 
assassins,  and  another  detachment  took  part  in  the 
funeral  procession  on  the  iQth,  escorting  the  President's 
body  from  the  White  House  to  the  Capitol.  On  their 
return  from  the  procession,  and  before  they  had  reached 
camp,  Lieutenant  E.  P.  Doherty  was  called  upon  to 
go  on  another  scout  after  Booth,  and,  calling  for  twenty- 
five  men,  started  into  Maryland,  crossing  the  Eastern 
Branch  over  the  Anacostia  bridge,  and  followed  the 
route  Booth  took,  until  they  learned  that  he  had  crossed 
the  river  into  Virginia.  They  returned  to  Washington, 
and  immediately  started  for  the  Sixth  Street  wharf,  where 
they  took  the  steamer,  landing  at  Belle  Plain.  It  was 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH  AND   HEROLD. 


99 


this  party  that  surrounded  the  barn,  one  of  which  was 
Corbett,  who  shot  Booth. 

After  the  war  Corbett  led  a  wandering  life  over  the 
-country,  canvassing,  peddling,  and  doing  odd  jobs.  He 
was  appointed  doorkeeper  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  State  of  Kansas.  In  the  session  of  1887,  when 
in  a  crazy  fit,  he  drew  a  couple  of  revolvers  and  prorogued 
the  House  of  Representatives — that  is,  they  scampered 


BOSTON    CORBETT. 

Who  shot  Booth  in  Garrett's  barn,  April  26,  1865. 

and  climbed  over  each  other  to  get  out.  They  managed 
to  quiet  him  down  and  got  control  of  him  without  any- 
one being  hurt.  He  was  examined  mentally,  placed  in  an 


100        ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

asylum,  from  which  he  escaped,  and  is  marked  on  record 
dead.    Mr.   George  A.   Huron  of  Topeka  was   ap- 


as 


pointed  his  guardian  by  the  Probate  Court  of  Shawnee 
County,  Kansas,  in  1887. 

Corbett  has  a  piece  of  land  in  Cloud  County,  Kansas, 
and  some  pension  money  due,  and  the  guardian  wants 


THOMAS  A.   JONES. 

The  man  who  carried  provisions  to  Booth  and  Herold  for  six  days,  from 
the  i6th  to  2ist  of  April,  piloted  them  to  the  river,  and  pushed  them  off  in 
his  own  fish  boat,  for  which  Booth  paid  him  seventeen  dollars. 

the  charge  of  insanity  removed,  so  that  he  may  come  in 
control  of  his  property.  He  has  for  the  four  years  past 
been  a  traveling  salesman  for  a  Topeka  patent  medicine 
concern.  His  territory  is  Oklahoma  and  Texas,  and  his 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH   AND   HEROLD. 


101 


headquarters  and  home  are  at  Enid  in  Oklahoma.  He  is 
now  sixty-two  years  old. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1894,  an  old  man,  seventy-six 
years  of  age,  called  at  the  house  where  the  martyred 
President  died.  After  viewing-  the  room  he  said :  "  My 
name  is  Thomas  A.  Jones,  and  I  am  the  man  who  cared 
for  and  fed  Booth  and  Herold  while  they  were  in  hiding, 
after  committing  the  awful  deed."  He  was  asked  to  tell 
the  story,  and  the  following  is  what  he  said: 

"  On  Easter  Sunday  morning,  1865,  a  boy  came 
to  my  house  and  told  me  Samuel  Cox,  my  foster- 
brother,  wanted  me  to  come  over  to  his  place,  as 
he  wished  to  see  me  about  some  seed  corn.  I  knew 
that  was  not  the  real  cause  of  his  sending  for  me,  but 


RESIDENCE    OF   COLONEL  SAMUEL  COX. 

Booth  and  Herold  were  directed  to  this  place  by  Dr.  Mudd,  and  upon 
their  arrival  Sunday  morning,  April  16,  Colonel  Cox  directed  his  man, 
Franklin  Robey,  to  pilot  them  to  a  thicket. 


IO2         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I  saddled  my  horse  at  once,  and  went  with  the  boy.  The 
distance  to  Rich  Hill  was  about  four  miles  north- 
east of  my  house.  Cox  met  me  at  the  gate,  and  we 
walked  quite  a  distance  out  from  the  house,  so  that  our 
conversation  could  not  be  heard.  Cox  said :  '  There 
were  two  men  called  at  my  house  this  morning  before 
daybreak,  and  I  think  one  was  Booth.  Now,  we  want 
you  to  take  charge  of  them,  feed  and  care  for  them,  and 
get  them  across  the  river  as  soon  as  you  can.  We  must 
help  them,  as  they  are  on  our  side '  (meaning  the  Con- 
federate side).  In  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  I  was 
willing  to  risk  my  life,  as  I  had  often  done,  but  the  war 
was  at  an  end;  the  cause  I  loved  was  lost.  I  knew  to 
assist  in  any  way  the  assassin  of  Lincoln  would  jeopard- 
ize my  life.  I  knew  that  southern  Maryland  was  full  of 
detectives  then,  eager  to  avenge  the  murder  of  their 
loved  Lincoln.  After  weighing  the  matter  a  few  mo- 
ments, I  said :  '  I  will  see  what  I  can  do,  but  must  see 
these  men  first;  where  are  they?  '  Cox  then  told  me  that 
his  overseer,  Franklin  Robey,  had  piloted  them  to  a  thick 
piece  of  pine  and  advised  them  to  keep  perfectly  quiet, 
and  promised  to  send  someone  to  them.  They  agreed 
upon  a  certain  signal  by  which  they  would  know  the  man 
who  came  to  them  was  from  Robey  (the  signal  was  a 
certain  whistle).  Cox  warned  me  to  be  cautious  how  I 
approached  them,  as  they  were  fully  armed  and  might 
shoot  me  by  mistake.  I  left  Cox  and  rode  toward  the 
spot,  fully  realizing  the  risk  I  was  undertaking;  but  I 
did  not  hesitate.  My  word  was  passed,  and  that  settled 
my  determination.  The  place  where  Booth  and  Herold 
were  in  hiding  was  about  one  mile  south  of  the  present 
village  of  Cox's  Station,  which  is  five  miles  from  Pope's 
Creek.  As  I  drew  near  the  hiding  place  of  the  fugitives, 
I  stopped  and  gave  the  signal.  Presently  a  young  man 


CAPTURE   OF  BOOTH   AND   HEROLD. 


103 


came  cautiously  out  of  the  thicket  and  stood  before  me; 
he  was  armed  and  ready  to  shoot,  if  need  be.  '  Who  are 
you,  and  what  do  you  want?'  he  asked.  '  I  came  from 


THE    FUGITIVES'    RETREAT. 

The  clear  spot  between  the  two  trees  is  the  spot  where  Booth  and  Herold 
were  secreted  for  six  days.  It  was  on  the  land  of  Captain  Michael  Stone 
Robertson.  The  public  road  and  railroad  pass  close  to  the  spot. 

Cox;  I  am  a  friend;  you  have  nothing  to  fear.'  He 
looked  searchingly  at  me  a  moment,  then  said:  '  Follow 
me,'  and  led  the  way  for  about  thirty  yards  into  the  thick 
undergrowth,  to  where  Booth  was  lying.  '  This  is  a 
friend  sent  by  Captain  Cox,'  he  said;  and  that  was  my 
introduction  to  John  Wilkes  Booth.  He  was  lying  on, 
the  wet,  cold  ground,  his  head  supported  by  his  hand. 
His  weapons  of  defense  were  close  beside  him;  an  old 
blanket  was  partly  drawn  over  him.  His  slouch  hat  and 
crutch  were  lying  by  him,  he  was  exceedingly  pale,  and 
his  features  bore  traces  of  intense  suffering.  I  have 


104         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

seldom  seen  a  more  handsome  man.  His  voice  was 
pleasant  and  his  manner  polite." 

As  the  speaker  paused  and  remained  silent  a  few  mo- 
ments, I  could  not  help  but  draw  a  comparison — Booth 
the  assassin  and  Booth  the  actor.  It  must  be  understood 
that  he  was  not  or  had  not  been  acting  at  this  time,  and 
in  fact  for  some  weeks  prior  to  this  he  had  not  been  upon 
the  stage;  yet  there  flashed  before  my  mind  the  brilliant 
scene  of  the  theater,  where  in  the  past  he  had  so  often 
appeared,  with  its  lights,  its  music,  its  throngs  of 
patrons,  its  gayety,  all  gathered  to  do  honor  to  the  star 
behind  the  footlights — John  Wilkes  Booth.  His  friends 
were  many,  his  admirers  legion,  his  future  in  his  own 
hands,  to  make  or  mar;  and  yet  he  chose  to  perform,  as 
the  closing  act  of  his  life,  that  awful  tragedy  that  should 
sink  him  into  the  abyss  of  disgraceful  oblivion — pitied, 
yet  despised. 

In  resuming,  Mr.  Jones  said :  "  Murderer  though  I 
knew  him  to  be,  my  sympathies  were  so  enlisted  in  his 
behalf  that  I  determined  to  do  all  I  could  to  get  him  into 
Virginia,  and  so  assured  him,  but  told  him  he  would 
have  to  remain  quiet  for  the  present;  I  would  bring  their 
food  every  day,  and  at  the  earliest  possible  moment 
would  get  them  across  the  river.  He  held  out  his  hand 
and  thanked  me;  also  said:  '  I  killed  President  Lincoln, 
and  knew  the  United  States  Government  would  use 
every  means  in  its  power  to  capture  me ;  but  John  Wilkes 
Booth  will  never  be  taken  alive! '  I  visited  them  daily, 
giving  them  food  and  newspapers  and  any  information 
that  I  could,  for  six  days.  Each  day  I  made  it  my  busi- 
ness to  gain  any  information  I  might,  and  the  following 
day  to  report  to  Booth.  The  third  day,  or  Tuesday  fol- 
lowing the  time  I  had  promised  to  care  for  Booth,  court 
was  held  in  Port  Tobacco.  I  knew  I  would  see  and  hear 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND   HEROLD. 


105 


a  great  deal  concerning  the  assassination  and  the  proba- 
ble whereabouts  of  the  assassin.  It  was  at  this  time  I  met 
Captain  Williams,  a  detective.  He  was  standing  in  the 
barroom  of  Brawner's  Hotel  (now  St.  Charles  Hotel)  in 
the  act  of  drinking  with  several  gentlemen.  Someone  in- 
troduced me  to  him,  and  he  politely  asked  me  to  drink. 
Just  as  we  were  about  to  take  the  drink,  he  said  to  me: 
'  I  am  authorized  by  the  United  States  Government  to 


ST.    CHARLES    HOTEL,    PORT    TOBACCO. 

It  was  in  this  hotel  that  Detective  William  Williams  offered  Jones  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  to  tell  him  where  Booth  was  secreted,  but 
Jones  refused. 

pay  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  Booth,  dead  or 
alive.'  I  looked  him  in  the  eye  and  said:  '  That's  a  good 
deal  of  money  to  give  for  one  man.'  " 


106         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

I  here  asked  Jones  if  it  was  any  temptation,  being  in 
the  reduced  circumstances  he  was  at  the  time.  He 
proudly  answered:  "  No,  indeed;  my  word  could  not  be 
bought  for  a  hundred  times  that  amount.  I  considered 
it  a  sacred  trust.  The  little  I  had  accumulated  was  irrev- 
ocably lost,  but,  thank  God,  1  still  possessed  something 
I  could  call  my  own,  and  its  name  was  Honor! 

"  Wednesday  and  Thursday  passed  uneventfully.  As 
the  days  rolled  away  Booth's  impatience  to  cross  the 
river  became  almost  unbearable;  but  the  time  to  move 
had  not  yet  arrived.  So  through  six  long,  weari- 
some days  and  five  dark,  restless  nights  Booth  lay 
there  in  hiding.  The  only  breaks  in  the  monotony  of 
that  week  were  my  daily  visits,  and  the  food  and  news- 
papers I  carried  him.  He  never  tired  of  the  newspapers, 
and  there,  surrounded  by  the  sighing  pines,  he  read  the 
world's  just  condemnation  of  his  deed  and  the  price  that 
was  offered  for  his  life.  On  Friday  evening,  April  21, 
the  opportune  time  seemed  to  have  presented  itself.  I 
rode  to  Allen's  Fresh,  about  three  miles  east  of  my 
house,  a  small  village  situated  where  Zekiah  Swamp  ends 
and  Wicomico  River  begins.  Now  or  never,  I  thought, 
is  my  chance."  Mr.  Jones  passed  his  hand  over  his 
brow  and  said :  "  That  was  many  years  ago,  but  so  in- 
delibly were  the  events  of  that  evening  impressed  upon 
my  mind  that  I  can  in  imagination  see  and  hear  all  that 
transpired.  It  was  dark  when  I  reached  the  place.  I  had 
never  visited  the  fugitives  at  night,  so  approached  with 
more  than  usual  caution  and  gave  the  signal.  Herold 
answered  me,  and  led  the  way  to  Booth.  I  told  them  the 
coast  seemed  clear,  and  the  darkness  favored  us,  and  we 
decided  to  make  the  attempt  to  cross  the  Potomac. 

"  Booth  was  obliged  to  ride  my  horse,  and  I  advised 
Herold  to  walk  beside  him,  while  I  would  precede  them 


CAPTURE  OF  BOOTH  AND   HEROLD. 


107 


about  fifty  yards.  When  I  came  to  a  certain  place  I 
would  whistle,  and  they  were  to  come  forward  until  they 
reached  me.  I  would  then  go  forward  fifty  yards  more, 
and  when  they  heard  the  signal,  but  not  before,  they 
should  advance  until  they  reached  me;  and  thus  we 
would  proceed  unti^ve  reached  the  river.  The  route  we 

V^ 


ALLEN'S    FRESH. 

Three  miles  from  Huckleberry,  the  home  of  Thomas  A.  Jones.  Mr.  Jones 
visited  this  place  on  Friday  the  2ist.  and  while  here  first  learned  that  the 
soldiers  had  all  gone  farther  south.  This  was  his  opportunity,  and  he 
grasped  it  by  starting  Booth  and  Herold  from  the  thicket  to  the  river. 

had  to  take  led  us  through  the  pines  about  one  mile  and 
a  half,  then  down  the  public  road  another  mile,  to  the 
corner  of  my  farm.  The  part  of  our  journey  that  lay 
over  the  public  road  I  most  dreaded — first,  because  we 


108         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

were  very  liable  to  meet  someone  on  the  road,  and  sec- 
ond, because  we  had  to  pass  two  dwelling  houses  close 
to  the  road.  One  was  occupied  by  a  negro  named  Sam 
Thomas,  where  there  were  children  always  around;  the 
other  was  the  home  of  John  Ware,  where  there  were  sev- 
eral dogs.  The  night  was  intensely  dark.  You  could 
not  see  your  hand  before  you.  As  we  journeyed  slowly 
and  cautiously  along  my  feelings  were  wrought  up  to 
an  intense  degree.  Every  slight  noise  would  startle  me. 
At  last,  after  what  seemed  an  interminable  age,  we 
reached  the  place.  We  stopped  near  the  stable,  about 


HUCKLEBERRY,   THE   HOME  OF  THOMAS   A.   JONES. 

Booth  and  Herold  were  taken  past  this  house,  and  Booth  begged  piteously 
to  be  taken  in,  but  Jones  refused,  and  went  himselt  to  get  them  something 
to  eat. 

fifty  yards  from  my  house.  It  was  then  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock.  '  Wait  here,'  I  said,  '  while  I  go  in  and 
get  you  some  supper,  which  you  can  eat  while  I  get 


CAPTURE   OF   BOOTH   AND   HEROLD. 

something  for  myself.'  With  a  look  I  shall  never  forget, 
Booth  said :  '  Please  let  me  go  to  the  house  and  get  some 
of  your  hot  coffee.'  It  made  my  heart  ache  to  hear  this 
piteous  request  almost  at  my  very  threshold,  and  yet 


THE    POINT     FROM      WHICH     THE     FUGITIVES    STARTED    TO    CROSS    THE 
POTOMAC. 

The  crossing  was  made  on  the  night  of  the  2ist  of  April.  The  figure  seen 
is  that  of  Henry  Woodland,  the  former  slave  of  Thomas  A.  Jones,  and  the 
assistant  of  Jones  in  getting  Booth  and  Herold  off. 

I  had  to  deny  him.  My  sympathies  were  never  so 
touched,  and  with  difficulty  I  said :  '  My  friend,  it  would 
be  certain  capture,  and  we  would  all  be  lost.  Remem- 
ber, this  is  your  last  chance.'  He  replied:  '  So  be  it.'  I 
went  to  the  house  and  took  what  I  thought  would  be 
enough  for  two  men  and  carried  it  out  to  them,  with 


1 10         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

some  hot  coffee.  After  supper  we  resumed  our  journey 
across  the  open  field  toward  the  longed-for  river.  When 
about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  river,  Herold  and 
myself  assisted  Booth  to  dismount.  The  path  was  steep 
and  narrow,  and  for  three  men  to  walk  down  it  abreast 
was  not  the  least  difficult  part  of  that  night's  work.  At 
length  we  reached  the  shore  and  found  the  boat.  It  was 
a  flat-bottomed  one,  about  twelve  feet  long,  of  a  dark 
lead  color.  We  placed  Booth  in  the  stern  with  an  oar 
to  steer,  Herold  taking  the  bow  seat  to  row.  The  night 
was  ink-black.  I  could  not  see  either  of  the  men,  and 
had  to  feel  for  them,  and  as  I  was  in  the  act  of  pushing 
the  boat  off  Booth  said:  'Wait  a  minute,,  old  fellow.' 
He  then  offered  me  some  money.  I  took  seventeen  dol- 
lars, the  price  of  the  boat.  In  a  voice  choked  with  emo- 
tion he  said:  '  God  bless  you,  my  dear  friend,  for  all  you 
have  done  for  me.  Good-by,  good-by ! '  I  pushed  the 
boat  off,  and  it  glided  out  in  the  darkness.  I  could  see 
nothing,  and  the  only  sound  was  the  swish  of  the  waves 
made  by  the  little  boat.  Never  in  all  my  life  did  my 
heart  go  out  in  more  pity  and  sympathy  for  my  fellow- 
man  than  that  night.  I  stood  on  the  shore  and  listened 
till  the  sound  of  the  oars  died  away  in  the  distance,  then 
climbed  the  hill  and  took  my  way  home,  and  my  sleep 
was  more  quiet  and  peaceful  than  it  had  been  for  some 
time." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FUNERAL    CEREMONIES    AND    REMOVAL    OF    REMAINS    TO 
SPRINGFIELD,    ILL. 

THE  funeral  service  was  held  in  the  East  Room  of  the 
White  House,  at  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  on  the  i9th,  after 
which  the  body  was  removed  to  the  funeral  car,  and  at 
two  o'clock  the  procession  formed  and  started  down 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  amid  the  tolling  of  bells  and  firing 
of  minute  guns.  On  the  arrival  at  the  eastern  entrance 
of  the  Capitol  the  coffin  was  carried  into  the  rotunda 
and  placed  on  a  catafalque,  where  the  body  was  exposed 
to  view  until  the  2ist.  At  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  that  day  the  body  was  escorted  to  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  railroad  station,  and  at  eight  o'clock  the  funeral 
train  started  on  its  mournful  journey  of  fifteen  hundred 
miles  to  the  final  resting  place,  stopping  at  Baltimore, 
Harrisburg,  Philadelphia,  New  York  City,  Albany,  Buf- 
falo, Cleveland,  and  Columbus,  O.,  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
and  Chicago,  111.,  arriving  at  Springfield  on  the  3d  day 
of  May.  At  all  of  these  places  the  people  were  permitted 
to  look  upon  the  face  of  their  dead  President.  At  Phila- 
delphia his  remains  lay  in  state  in  the  room  in  which 
the  history  of  our  nation  began,  eighty-five  years  before, 
and  where  President  Lincoln  stood  on  the  22d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1861,  while  on  his  journey  from  Springfield  to 
Washington,  and  said,  in  referring  to  that  sentiment  in 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  which  gave  liberty  to 
the  people  of  this  country :  '  But  if  this  country  cannot  be* 
saved  without  giving  up  that  principle,  I  was  about  to 


TT2         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


THE  CAPITOL  AT  WASHINGTON. 


say  I  would  rather  be  assassinated  on  this  spot  than  to 
surrender  it."  The  old  bell  that  rang  liberty  throughout 
the  land  hung  silent  and  dumb,  but  its  echoes  will  never 
die  out,  and  the  gaunt  and  rugged  form  of  the  martyred 
President  lay  amid  the  memories  of  that  hall  close  to  the 
bell,  April- 22,  1865,  four  years  and  two  months  after  he 
made  those  prophetic  remarks.  The  world  will  never  for- 
get that  he  sounded  the  note  of  liberty,  and  rung  out  the 
joy  of  a  nation  redeemed.  It  seems  strange  that  a  wilder- 
ness unknown  to  the  men  who  made  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  should  give  birth  to  a  man  so  inspired  as 
to  fulfill  all  its  promises. 

During  the  journey  through  the  nights  the  train  wa.s 
brilliantly  illumined  by  bonfires  that  lighted  up  the 
country  for  miles  around,  turning  darkness  into  day. 
People  came  in  buggies  and  wagons  for  a  great  distance 
to  greet  the  train,  men  stood  with  uncovered  heads, 


FUNERAL   CEREMONIES.  113 

bands  played  their  funeral  dirges,  while  a  requiem  was 
sung  for  the  dead.  At  many  stations  whole  companies 
of  soldiers  were  drawn  up  in  line  with  reversed  arms; 
young  ladies  dressed  in  white,  with  flags  draped,  chanted 
their  slow,  mournful  airs.  Large  arches  of  evergreen 
and  flowers  were  formed  above  the  track.  At  Richmond, 
Ind.,  the  train  slowly  passed  under  a  beautiful  arch  dec- 
orated with  the  national  colors  and  colored  lamps,  and  a 
tableau  of  Genius  of  Liberty  weeping  over  the  coffin  of 
Lincoln  was  also  passed,  guarded  on  either  side  by 
soldiers  and  sailors,  while  a  band  played  a  mournful 
dirge. 

The  funeral  train  left  Chicago  at  half-past  nine  o'clock 
on  the  night  of  May  2,  the  distance  to  Springfield  being 
185  miles.  The  track  seemed  to  be  illuminated  the 
whole  way,  showing  many  appropriate  mottoes.  The 
most  suggestive  were,  "  Come  Home,"  "  Go  to  Thy 
Rest,"  "  Ours  the  Cross,  Thine  the  Crown,"  "  He  has 
Fulfilled  his  Mission." 

His  remains  were  received  at  Springfield  by  the  plain 
people  on  the  bright  May  morning,  when  spring  showers 
of  the  previous  night  had  freshened  the  prairie  flowers 
and  the  blossoms  of  the  orchard,  and  the  birds  were 
jubilant  with  their  sweet  songs. 

The  "  pilot  engine,"  draped  in  mourning,  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  advance  of  the  funeral  train,  which  consisted 
of  nine  cars.  It  was  announced  to  arrive  at  eight  o'clock, 
but  did  not  reach  the  depot  until  a  few  minutes  before 
nine. 

The  remains  were  transferred  from  the  funeral  car  to 
the  beautiful  hearse  tendered  by  the  mayor  of  St.  Louis. 
After  the  procession  had  been  formed,  it  proceeded  from 
the  Chicago,  Alton  &  St.  Louis  Railroad  to  the  State 
House,  entering  through  the  east  gate  and  passing  to 


114         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  Hall  of  Representatives  by  the  north  entrance.  The 
coffin  was  placed  on  the  catafalque,  and  a  -few  minutes' 
past  10  o'clock  A.  M.  the  vast  crowd  was  admitted  to  view 
the  remains. 

At  half-past  eleven  on  the  4th  the  cortege  moved  to 
Oak  Ridge  Cemetery,  where  the  body  was  placed  in  a 
temporary  vault,  when  Bishop  Matthew  Simpson  deliv- 
ered the  funeral  address,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  was  left 
alone  in  the  grass-green  valley,  where  the  little  brook 
sweeping  by  his  tomb  sung  each  day  a  requiem. 


THE    TEMPORARY  VAULT, 

Oak  Ridge  Cemetery,  Springfield,  111.,  in  which  the  body  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  placed  May  4,  1865. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

TRIAL    AND    PUNISHMENT    OF    THE    CONSPIRATORS. 

THE  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  was  a  military 
crime.  He  was  killed  while  actually  in  command  of  the 
army,  as  Commander-in-Chief ;  consequently  the  con- 
spirators were  excluded  from  any  right  to  a  trial  in  the 
civil  courts.  President  Andrew  Johnson  asked  Attorney- 
General  James  Speed  whether  the  persons  charged  with 
the  offense  of  having  assassinated  the  President  should 
be  tried  before  a  military  tribunal  or  a  civil  court.  The 
Attorney-General  rendered  the  following  decision: 

'  That  if  the  persons  who  are  charged  with  assassina- 
tion of  the  President  committed  the  deed  as  public  ene- 
mies, as  I  believe  they  did,  and  whether  they  did  or  not 
is  a  question  to  be  decided  by  the  tribunal  before  which 
they  are  tried,  they  not  only  can,  but  ought  to  be,  tried 
before  a  military  tribunal.  If  the  persons  charged  have 
offended  against  the  laws  of  war,  it  would  be  palpably 
wrong  for  the  military  to  hand  them  over  to  the  civil 
courts,  as  it  would  be  wrong  in  a  civil  court  to  convict 
a  man  of  murder  who  had  in  time  of  war  killed  another 
in  battle." 

The  Secretary  of  War  announced  in  an  official  bulletin 
that  all  persons  who  had  harbored  or  secreted  the  con- 
spirators, or  who  had  aided  or  assisted  their  escape, 
should  be  "  subject  to  trial  before  a  military  commission, 
and  the  punishment  is  death.  Let  the  stain  of  innocent 

"5 


I  ID  AbSASSlJNATlUJN    UF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

blood  be  removed  from  the  land  by  the  arrest  and  punish- 
ment of  the  murderers!  All  good  citizens  are  exhorted 
to  aid  public  justice  on  this  occasion.  Every  man  should 
consider  his  own  innocence  charged  with  this  solemn 
duty,  and  rest  neither  night  nor  day  till  it  is  accom- 
plished." 

President  Johnson,  after  having  considered  the  reports 
of  the  officials  charged  with  the  preliminary  examina- 
tion of  testimony  and  having  obtained  the  opinion  of 
Attorney-General  Speed  on  the  manner  in  which  those  of 
the  suspected  conspirators  who  had  been  arrested  should 
be  tried,  issued  a  special  order,  dated  May  i,  1865,  calling 
upon  the  Assistant  Adjutant-General  to  detail  nine  com- 
petent military  officers  to  serve  as  a  commission  for  the 
trial  of  said  parties.  The  following  were  appointed: 

Major-General  David  Hunter,  U.  S.  V. 

Major-General  Lew  Wallace,  U.  S.  V. 

Brevet  Major-General  August  V.  Kautz,  U.  S.  V. 

Brigadier-General  Alvin  P.  Howe,  U.  S.  V. 

Brigadier-General  Robert  S.  Foster,  U.  S.  V. 

Brevet  Brigadier-General  James  A.  Ekin,  U.  S.  V. 

Brigadier-General  T.  M.  Harris,  U.  S.  V. 

Brevet  Colonel  C.  H.  Tompkins,  U.  S.  V. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  David  R.  Clendenin,  8th  Illinois 
Cavalry. 

Brigadier-General  Joseph  Holt,  Judge-Advocate  and 
Recorder,  assisted  by  Judge-Advocate  Henry  L.  Burnett 
and  Hon.  John  A.  Bingham. 

Brevet  Major-General  John  F.  Hartranft  was  assigned 
to  duty  as  special  provost-marshal. 

A  large  room  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  third  story 
of  the  penitentiary,  near  the  cells  in  which  the  prisoners 
were  confined,  was  fitted  up  for  the  trial.  It  was  about 
thirty  by  forty-five  feet  square,  with  a  ceiling  about 


a5  S 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


TRIAL  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS.  119 

eleven  feet  high,  supported  by  three  wooden  pillars. 
Four  windows,  with  heavy  iron  gratings,  afforded  tolera- 
ble ventilation,  and  there  were  two  ante-rooms  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  court  and  witnesses.  The  room 
was  whitewashed  and  painted  for  the  occasion,  a 
prisoners'  dock  was  constructed  along  the  western  side, 
the  floor  was  covered  with  cocoa  matting,  and  the  tables 
and  chairs  were  new.  Gas  was  introduced,  in  case  the 
court  should  protract  its  sittings  until  after  dark. 

During  the  trial  the  members  of  the  court  were  all  in 
full  uniform,  and  were  seated  around  a  large  table  parallel 
with  the  north  side  of  the  room.  General  Hunter,  the 
president,  sat  at  the  eastern  end.  At  the  foot  of  this  table 
was  another  occupied  by  Judge-Advocate-General  Holt, 
with  his  assistants,  Hon.  John  A.  Bingham  and  Colonel 
H.  L.  Burnett.  In  the  center  of  the  room  was  a  stand 
for  witnesses,  who  were  required  to  face  the  court  while 
being  examined.  Behind  the  witness  stand,  and  parallel 
with  the  southern  side  of  the  room,  was  a  long  table, 
which  was  occupied  by  reporters  and  correspondents 
during  the  public  sessions  of  the  court.  At  the  foot  of 
this  table  sat  the  counsel  for  the  prisoners  after  they  had 
been  introduced. 

The  prisoners'  dock  was  a  platform  raised  about  one 
foot  from  the  floor,  and  about  four  feet  broad,  with  a 
strong  railing  in  front  of  it.  Along  this  dock  sat  the 
accused.  Mrs.  Surratt  had  the  left-hand  corner  to  her- 
self, a  passageway  to  the  door  leading  to  the  cells  inter- 
vening between  her  and  the  seven  male  prisoners,  who 
sat  sandwiched  with  six  soldiers,  who  wore  the  light  blue 
uniform  of  the  Veteran  Reserve  Corps.  Dr.  Mudd  wore 
handcuffs  connected  with  chains,  but  the  bracelets  of  the 
other  male  prisoners  were  joined  by  wide  bars  of  iron 
ten  inches  long,  which  kept  their  arms  apart.  All  the 


120         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

prisoners  except  Mrs.  Surratt  wore  anklets  connected  by 
short  chains,  which  hampered  their  walk,  and  heavy  iron 
balls  were  also  attached  by  chains  to  the  limbs  of  Payne 
and  Atzerodt. 

During  the  confinement  in  the  penitentiary  the  pris- 
oners, with  the  exception  of  Mrs.  Surratt,  wore  caps 
drawn  over  their  heads.  The  cap  was  of  gray  flannel, 
made  roughly,  with  a  string  -drawn  through  the  end. 
The  cap  or  mask  was  tied  loosely  under  the  chin.  A 
slit  in  it  served  as  a  hole  for  the  mouth.  The  cap  was 
left  off  when  the  prisoners  appeared  in  the  court  room. 
The  arms  of  the  male  prisoners  were  fastened  at  the 
wrists  by  handcuffs.  They  were  the  kind  commonly 
known  as  "  stiff  shackles,"  so  named  because  the  cuffs 
were  fastened  to  each  other  by  a  bar  of  iron  about  four- 
teen inches  long,  which  prevented  the  moving  of  one 
arm  without  a  corresponding  movement  of  the  other. 
The  left  ankle  was  fastened  by  a  shackle  attached  to  an 
iron  cone  by  a  chain  two  feet  long.  This  cone  was  a  foot 
high  and  eight  inches  in  diameter  a,t  the  base.  It  would 
weigh  about  seventy-five  pounds.  When  the  prisoners 
were  marched  into  the  court  room,  two  guards  put  an 
iron  rod  through  the  staple  in  the  apex  of  the  cone  and 
carried  it.  Each  prisoner  was  confined  in  a  separate  cell, 
attended  by  four  guards.  As  the  prisoners  entered  and 
left  the  room,  their  fetters  clanking  at  every  step,  they 
formed  an  impressive  procession.  As  seen  by  the  court, 
the  prisoners  sat  in  the  following  order  from  the  right: 
Arnold,  Dr.  Mudd,  Spangler,  O'Laughlin,  Atzerodt, 
Payne,  Herold,  and  Mrs.  Surratt.  The  prisoners  when  ar- 
rested were  first  confined  in  the  Old  Capitol  Prison  and 
on  board  of  the  monitors  Montaiik  and  Saugiis,  anchored 
off  the  Navy  Yard,  whence  they  were  removed  to 
the  building  originally  used  as  the  penitentiary  of  the 


TRIAL   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS. 


123 


District  of  Columbia,  which  was  within  the  limits  of  the 
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1                                                                           \<' 

THE   PRISONERS*   MA.IVA.CIJ:S. 


Tbe  abOTe  U  a  correct  drawtog  ortbe  manaclee  i»ed  I  hands.  a«  In  the  old-ftuhloned  ibackle,  whew  III* 
MlconGnlncibeunsorttit  prLtuocn.    Tbowrnileu  |clas[nare  cgmiected  by  cbalo  llnlu.  tbiv  eOectoallr 
•entluchcd  lo  au  iron  bar.  aboil  twelve  inches  In  |  preTeaux  Uie  culprit  froai  uaftutoDlog  orbreaklai 
)ea»Ui,  wuich  prevfDU  tbe  wtanr  from  Jo.olo*  bu  |  tbem. 

PLAN  OF  THE  COURT  ROOM  OCCUPIED  BY  THE  MILITARY 
COMMISSION. 

the  junction  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Eastern  Branch, 
and  at  the  foot  of  Four-and-a-half  Street  S.  W.     The 


124         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

following  description  of  the  grounds  is  given  by  Ben: 
Perley  Poore: 

"  The  tract  of  land  was  purchased  by  a  Mr.  Greenleaf 
when  Washington  was  first  laid  out  as  a  metropolis. 
He  hoped  that  it  would  become  the  business  portion  of 
the  future  city,  which  George  Washington  expected 
would  be  the  tide-water  of  the  great  West,  by  the  con- 
struction of  a  canal  along  the  Potomac  River  as  a  chan- 
nel of  transmontane  transportation.  Mr.  Greenleaf's 
'great  expectations'  were  not  realized;  and  he  became 
so  involved  that  several  houses  which  he  erected  and 
nearly  completed  actually  fell  gradually  to  pieces,  and 
were  carried  away  for  firewood.  The  extremity  of  the 
point  has  been  used  for  a  United  States  Arsenal  since 
the  last  war  with  Great  Britain." 

The  old  penitentiary  was  erected  in  1836,  but  was 
afterward  enlarged  and  improved.  It  was  situated  on  the 
northern  side  of  the  Arsenal  grounds.  Four-and-a-half 
Street  runs  directly  from  the  City  Hall  and  Court-House 
across  the  avenue  down  to  the  old  penitentiary  gate. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  it  was 
found  imperatively  necessary  to  enlarge  the  Arsenal 
grounds,  and  their  limits  were  extended  quite  a  distance 
north  of  the  penitentiary.  The  convicts  formerly  con- 
fined there  were  sent  to  Albany,  N.  Y. 

Major-General  Hartranft,  the  special  provost-marshal 
detailed  for  the  trial,  had  placed  under  his  orders  a 
brigade  of  volunteers  and  a  detachment  of  the  Veteran 
Reserve  Corps.  Strong  guards  were  so  posted  as  to 
render  the  rescue  or  escape  of  the  prisoners  impossible; 
and  there  was  in  addition  a  detective  force,  which  exer- 
cised a  watchful  surveillance. 

The  Commission  met  at  10  o'clock  A.  M.,  Wednesday, 
May  10,  1865,  and  the  special  order  of  President  John- 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


TRIAL   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS.  127 

son  convening  the  Commission  was  read  in  the  hearing 
of  the  prisoners.  They  were  asked  if  they  had  any  ob- 
jections to  any  member  of  the  Commission;  to  which  they 
all  severally  replied  they  had  not.  The  Commission,  the 
Judge-Advocate-General  and  his  associates,  and  the  re- 
porters, having  been  duly  sworn  in,  the  prisoners,  Samuel 
Arnold,  Samuel  A.  Mudd,  Edward  Spangler,  Michael 
O'Laughlin,  George  A.  Atzerodt,  Lewis  Payne,  David 
E.  Herold,  and  Mary  E.  Surratt  were  arraigned  on  the 
charge  of  conspiracy  to  assassinate  President  Lincoln 
and  other  officers  of  the  Federal  Government.  Each 
prisoner  pleaded  not  guilty  to  the  charge.  They  were 
permitted  to  engage  such  counsel  as  they  desired  to  em- 
ploy. Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson,  who  had  been  solicited 
to  appear  in  behalf  of  Mrs.  Surratt,  was  not  present,  but 
she  conferred  with  Mr.  Frederick  Aikin  of  Washington. 
Mr.  Thomas  Ewing,  Jr.,  appeared  as  counsel  for  Arnold 
and  Dr.  Mudd,  Mr.  W.  E.  Doster  for  Payne  and  At- 
zerodt, Mr.  Frederick  Stone  for  Dr.  Mudd,  and  Mr. 
Walter  Cox  for  O'Laughlin.  The  session  of  the  Com- 
mission was  not  public  until  the  second  day,  when  spec- 
tators were  admitted  to  the  court  room. 

Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson  appeared  on  the  I3th  as  coun- 
sel for  Mrs.  Surratt,  but  General  Harris  objected  to  him 
as  a  counsel  before  the  court,  on  the  ground  that  he  did 
not  recognize  the  moral  obligation  of  an  oath  that  was 
designed  as  a  test  of  loyalty.  Some  debate  took  place 
between  the  two  gentlemen,  when  General  Harris  with- 
drew his  objections,  and,  upon  the  suggestion  of  General 
Lew  Wallace,  the  requirement  of  Mr.  Johnson  taking 
the  oath  was  dispensed  with,  as  he  had  brought  with  him 
the  certificate  of  having  taken  the  oath  as  United  States 
Senator.  He  then  appeared  as  counsel  for  Mrs.  Surratt. 

Mr.  Johnson  said:  "  I  am  here  at  the  instance  of  that 


128         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

lady  [pointing  to  Mrs.  Surratt],  whom  I  never  saw  until 
yesterday,  and  never  heard  of,  she  being  a  Maryland 
lady,  and  thinking  that  I  could  be  of  service  to  her,  pro- 
testing, as  she  has  done,  her  innocence  to  me.  Of  the 
facts  I  know  nothing,  because  I  deemed  it  right,  I 
deemed  it  due  to  the  character  of  the  profession  to  which 
I  belong,  and  which  is  not  inferior  to  the  noble  profes- 
sion of  which  you  are  a  member,  that  she  should  not  go 
undefended.  I  knew  I  was  to  do  it  voluntarily,  without 
compensation;  the  law  prohibits  me  from  receiving  com- 
pensation; but  if  it  did  not,  understanding  her  condition, 
I  should  never  have  dreamed  .  of  refusing  upon  the 
ground  of  her  inability  to  make  compensation. 

"  I  am  here  to  do  whatever  the  evidence  will  justify 
me  in  doing  in  protecting  this  lady  from  the  charge 
upon  which  she  is  now  being  tried  for  her  life.  I  am 
here  detesting  from  the  very  bottom  of  my  heart  every- 
one concerned  in  this  nefarious  plot,  carried  out  with, 
such  fiendish  malice,  as  much  as  any  member  of  this 
court,  and  I  am  not  here  -to  protect  anyone  whom,  when 
the  evidence  is  offered,  I  shall  deem  to  have  been  guilty 
— even  her." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

SKETCHES    OF    THE    CONSPIRATORS. 

MRS.  MARY  E.  SURRATT  was  forty-five  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  the  trial.  She  was  raised  in  Prince  George 
County,  Maryland.  Her  father  died  when  she  was  quite 
young.  She  was  considered  the  belle  of  Prince  George 
County.  In  the  year  1835  she  was  married  to  John  H. 
Surratt,  the  young  couple  settling  on  a  farm  near  Wash- 
ington, which  he  had  inherited  from  an  uncle.  After  they 
had  lived  there  a  few  years,  this  house  was  set  on  fire  by 
one  of  their  slaves,  who  seemed  to  have  been  infuriated 
by  the  cruel  treatment  to  which  he  had  been  subjected. 
Surratt  afterward  made  money  as  a  contractor  on  the 
Orange  &  Alexandria  Railroad,  and,  on  his  return  to 
Maryland,  purchased  the  place  afterward  known  as  Sur- 
ratt's,  where  he  established  a  tavern,  and  later  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster.  They  had  three  children — a  daugh- 
ter and  two  sons.  One  of  the  latter  (Isaac)  entered  the 
Confederate  army,  and  the  other  (John)  was  the  com- 
panion of  Booth.  Mrs.  Surratt,  now  a  widow,  rented  her 
farm  to  John  M.  Lloyd,  and  removed  to  Washington  in 
the  fall  of  1864,  where  she  opened  a  boarding  house  at 
604  H  Street  N.  W.  The  daughter  (Annie)  was  an  in- 
telligent young  lady,  having  received  her  education  at  a 
Catholic  seminary,  near  Bryantown,  Md.  Mother  and 
daughter  were  very  devoted  to  each  other.  Mrs.  Surratt 
was  deeply  attached  to  her  church,  family,  and  the  South- 
ern Confederacy.  No  more  pronounced  secession  head- 


130         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

quarters  were  established  than  in  her  home  at  Surratts- 
ville,  but  the  family  circle  in  the  city  was  no  doubt  free 
from  any  designs  upon  the  life  of  President  Lincoln  until 
J.  Wilkes  Booth  was  introduced  to  her  son  on  the  23d  day 


MRS.  MARY  E.  SURRATT. 

Executed  July  7,  1865. 

of  December,  1864,  by  Dr.  Mudcl.  After  that  date 
Booth,  Payne,  and  Atzerodt  were  frequent  visitors  at  her 
home.  During  the  trial  of  the  conspirators  there  was  a 
strong  sentiment  manifested  in  her  favor,  and  there  was 
much  comment  as  to  the  degree  of  her  guilt.  While  she 
may  not  have  been  privy  to  the  murder  of  the  President, 


SKETCHES   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS.  13! 

there  was  but  little  doubt  as  to  her  approval  of  the  pro- 
posed abduction. 

The  men  who  composed  the  Military  Commission  that 
tried  the  conspirators  were  carefully  selected,  and  for 
their  coolness  and  good  judgment  they  were  especially 
fitted  for  the  great  work  that  they  had  been  called  upon 
to  perform. 

It  was  impossible,  at  the  height  of  such  excitement  as 
prevailed  at  that  time,  to  have  secured  for  the  conspira- 
tors a  fairer  trial  than  they  obtained.  Especially  is  this 
true  regarding  Mrs.  Surratt.  If  there  had  been  any  rea- 
sonable doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  members  of  the 
Commission  as  to  her  guilt,  she  would  have  been  ac- 
quitted. As  fair  as  Mrs.  Surratt's  trial  was  believed  to 
be  by  all  reasonable  men,  a  feeling  has  existed  since 
that  an  injustice  was  done  the  woman,  and  the  same 
sentiment  has  sought  to  cast  blame  on  the  officers 
who  dealt  out  justice  in  proportion  to  the  crimes 
committed. 

In  the  argument  of  the  case,  District  Attorney  Pier- 
pont  said:  "  I  know  the  character  of  the  American  peo- 
ple. I  know  the  imagination  revolts  at  the  execution 
of  one  of  the  tender  sex.  But  when  a  woman  opens  her 
house  to  murderers  and  conspirators,  infuses  the  poison 
of  her  own  malice  into  their  hearts,  and  urges  them  to  the 
crime  of  murder  and  treason,  I  say  boldly,  as  an  Amer- 
ican officer,  that  public  safety,  public  duty,  requires  that 
an  example  be  made  of  her  conduct." 

Annie,  the  heart-broken  daughter,  visited  her  mother 
constantly,  kneeling  in  the  cell  at  her  feet,  sobbing,  ut- 
tering now  and  then  a  pitiful  scream,  till  the  gloomy 
corridors  rang  with  her  cries.  As  a  last  resort  she  flung 
herself  on  the  steps  of  the  White  House,  and  made  that 
portal  memorable  by  her  grief  and  tears.  But  the  doors 


132         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

of  the  Executive  Mansion  were  closed  to  her,  and  she 
was  never  able  to  obtain  an  interview  with  President 
Johnson. 

Judge  Holt  was  charged  with  withholding  from  Presi- 
dent Johnson  the  recommendation  of  the  five  members 
of  the  court  that  the  sentence  of  Mrs.  Surratt  be  com- 
muted to  imprisonment.  For  reasons  best  known  to 
himself,  President  Johnson  did  not  refute  this  charge, 
but  after  the  execution  several  members  of  the  Cabinet 
positively  declared  that  the  petition  had  been  presented 
to  the  President. 

General  Hartranft  was  severely  censured  for  placing 
manacles  upon  Mrs.  Surratt,  and  he  answers  this  charge 
by  saying  that  he  was  marshal  of  the  court  before  whom 
the  conspirators  were  tried,  had  charge  of  her  before, 
during,  and  after  the  trial,  and  declared  that  during  this 
period  of  over  two  months  she  never  had  a  manacle  or 
manacles  on  either  hands  or  feet,  and  the  thought  of  it 
was  never  entertained  by  anyone  in  authority.  She  was 
shown  some  favors  while  in  prison.  Being  a  woman,  she 
was  allowed  to  choose  what  she  wished  to  eat,  while  the 
other  conspirators  were  fed  on  army  rations.  It  was 
suggested  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  Commission 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  age  and  sex  of  Mrs.  Surratt, 
it  might  possibly  be  well  to  change  her  sentence  to  im- 
prisonment for  life. 

President  Johnson  laid  the  record  of  the  Military  Com- 
mission before  his  Cabinet,  and  every  single  member 
voted  to  confirm  the  sentence,  and  then  the  President 
wrote  his  confirmation  of  it,  signing  the  warrant  for 
their  execution,  and  the  last  hope  of  Mrs.  Surratt's 
friends  for  her  reprieve  was  blasted.  President  Johnson 
firmly  believed  that  Mrs.  Surratt  participated  in  the  as- 
sassination of  President  Lincoln. 


SKETCHES   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS. 


133 


GEORGE  A.  ATZERODT  was  about  thirty-three  years  of 
age,  born  in  Germany,  .but  was  raised  and  lived  in 
Charles  County,  Maryland,  and  was  by  occupation  a 
coach  painter  at  Port  Tobacco  during  the  war;  also  en- 
gaged as  a  blockade  runner.  He  was  a  short,  thick-set, 
round-shouldered,  brawny-armed  man,  with  a  stupid  ex- 
pression, high  cheek  bones,  a  sallow  complexion,  small 


GEORGE    A.    ATZERODT. 

Was    to  have    killed  Vice-President  Johnson,   but    did    not    make  the 
attempt.    Executed  July  7, 1865. 

grayish-blue  eyes,  tangled  light  brown  hair,  and  strag- 
gling sandy  whiskers  and  mustache.  At  the  trial  he  ap- 
parently manifested  a  stoical  indifference  to  what  was 


134         ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

going  on  in  the  court,  although  an  occasional  cat-like 
glance  would  reveal  his  anxiety  concerning  himself, 
l-.vidently  crafty,  cowardly,  and  mercenary,  his  own 
safety  was  doul/tless  the  all-absorbing  subject  of  his 
thoughts.  Atzerodt  made  a  statement  to  several  parties 
that  Booth  and  Surratt  wanted  a  man  to  secure  a  boat 
and  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  ferry  a  party  over  the 
I'otomai  ,  ;ni'l  IK-  -  onsentcd  to  do  the  .voi  1..  'I  hi-,  wa-.  to 
have  taken  plaee  near  I 'oil  'I  ohacco,  hut  the  first  plot, 
to  capture  the  President,  failed,  and  when  the  second,  to 
kill,  was  proposed,  he  declined  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  it.  His  statement  stands  as  worthless,  for  there  is 
no  doubt  that  he  fully  intended  to  carry  out  the  in- 
struction of  Booth  to  kill  Vice  I 're  -,id< -nt  Johnson,  but  he 
lacked  the  nerve  when  the  hour  of  execution  came.  He 
was  considered  by  men  who  knew  him  to  have  but  little 
courage,  and  to  he  remarkable  for  his  cowardice.  He  was 
a  good-natured  kind  of  a  fellow,  and  just  such  a  one  as 
the  fascinating  Hooth  could  win  over  to  do  such  deeds  as 
were  assigned  to  him.  Atx.erodt  says,  in  a  confession 
made  in  his  cell  on  the  night  before  his  execution: 

"  Previous  to  the  an.ni;-.'  mmi  for  the  niurdei  I'.ooih 
he;nd  ih,, i  I'M  id<  nl  I  JIM  .,ln  was  to  visit  a  <  amp.  'I  lie 
coach  was  to  be  taken  out  Seventh  Street  and  Surratt  was 
to  jump  on  the  box,  as  he  was  the  best  driver,  and  drive- 
to  tin-  I  ,011;;  ({Hdge. f  'I  hi',  Was  about  the  middle  ol 

March.  I'.ooth,  <  )'L;mghlin,  Samuel  Arnold,  I'ayne 
my. elf,  and  lleiold  went  to  the  bridge  with  t  wo  carbines, 
where  we  were  to  wait  lor  I'.ooth  and  Surratt.  We  did  so 
until  midnr-lii  and  i-  -turned  to  Washington.  This  plan 
having  failed,  all  was  <|in'et  for  some  time.  I'.ooth  and 
Payne  went  to  New  York,  Arnold  and  u'Laughlin  to 

*THO  Soldier,'   II, .IIM-.    M:n-  li    t(>. 

f  He  probably  meant  the  Navy  Y.-n.l  I'-i  i-lge. 


SKETCHES  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS*  I.;; 

Baltimore.  Booth  told  me  that  Surratt  was  in  the  Hern- 
don  House  on  the  night  of  the  murder,  the  14th  of  April* 
\\  o  \\oro  not  all  together  at  the  Herndon  House.  The 
words  of  Booth  were:  '  1  saw  Surratt  a  few  moments 
ago**  All  the  parties  appeared  to  be  engaged  at  some- 
thing  that  night  and  were  not  toother.  Booth  ap- 
pointed me  and  Herold  to  kill  Johnson.  In  going  down 
the  street  I  told  Booth  we  could  not  do  it.  Booth  said 
Herold  had  more  courage,  and  he  would  do  it.  The  coil 
of  rope  at  Lloyd's  was  to  stretch  across  the  road  to  trip 
the  cavalry.  When  applied  to  for  money.  Booth  said 
he  would  go  to  New  York  and  get  some,  us  he  had  some 
there.  Booth  told  me  an  .is  to  l*e  the  assistant 

in  the  theater  to  turn  off  the  glS  Mrs.  Surratt,  Mrs. 
Slater,  Major  Banon.  and  John  Surratt  left  Washington 
together,  anil  got  horses  at  Howard's.  Mrs.  Surratt 
stopped  at  Surrattsville.  John  Surratt  and  Mrs.  Slater 
crossed,  and  Banon  and  Mrs.  Surratt  came  kick.  Banon 
was  in  the  Rebel  army.  HarKn-n  was  into  it  first:  he 
came  to  Port  Tobacco  for  me  with  John  Surratt  during 
the  winter.  The  boat  \\a*  at  the  head  ot  /reek 

and  moved  to  Nan  jet:  A\     It  was  a  lead-colored, 

fat-bottom  boat,  and  would  carry  fifteen  men.    This  txxit 
was  bought  of  lames  Brawner  —  the  old  man.    Mrs.  Slater 
went  with  Booth  a  s>reat  deal.     She  stopped  at  the   \ 
tional  Hotel." 

This  statement  is  very  much  disconnected,  but  rv 
sents  events  that  took  place  at  various  periods  of  the  plot. 
1:  wta  \\ritten  under  trying  circumstances,  anil  we  can- 
not  wonder  at   the  tumbling  manner  in   which   it   was 
written. 


P.  Hi  KVM  n  was  horn  in  Maryland,  receiving  his 
education  ;\i  Charlotte  Hall,  in  Si    Mary's  County,     His 


136         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

father  resided  in  Washington,  on  Eighth  Street  S.  E., 
near  the  Navy  Yard,  and  was  employed  for  twenty  years 
as  principal  clerk  of  the  Navy  Yard  store,  at  the  Navy 


DAVID    E.     HEROLD. 


Joined  Booth  in  his  flight  from  Washington,  and  surrendered  in  Garrett's 
barn  a  few  minutes  before  Booth  was  shot.    Executed  July  7,  1865 

Yard.  He  died  in  1864,  leaving  a  wife,  seven  daughters, 
and  one  son.  The  family,  with  the  exception  of  David, 
who  seldom  attended,  were  members  of  Christ  Church 
(Episcopal)  at  the  Navy  Yard,  and  were  highly  esteemed 
by  those  who  knew  them.  David  was  a  stupid,  insignifi- 
cant-looking young  man,  with  slender  frame,  and  irreso- 


SKETCHES   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS.  137 

lute,  cowardly  appearance.  He  had  a  narrow  forehead, 
small,  dark  hazel  eyes,  thick  black  hair,  and  an  incipient 
mustache.  At  one  time  he  took  up  pharmacy  for  a  liveli- 
hood, and  clerked  at  three  different  drug  stores,  the  last 
one  for  W.  S.  Thompson,  who  kept  on  the  southwest 
corner  of  Fifteenth  Street  and  Pennsylvania  Avenue. 
For  eleven  months  he  was  employed  in  the  drug  store 
of  Francis  S.  Walsh,  608  Eighth  Street  S.  E.,  and  dur- 
ing that  time  lived  at  his  house.  While  there  Mr.  Walsh 
found  nothing  objectionable  in  his  character,  but  in 
many  ways  he  was  unstable,  and  very  little  reliability 
could  be  placed  in  him.  Although  twenty-three  years  of 
age,  he  was  more  like  a  boy  than  a  man.  His  conversa- 
tion was  light  and  trifling,  and  he  was  very  easily  per- 
suaded and  led.  It  is,  then,  no  surprise  that  such  a  boy 
was  only  wax  in  the  hands  of  a  man  of  determined  and 
resolute  will,  of  pleasing  and  fascinating  manners,  such 
as  J.  Wilkes  Booth. 

LEWIS  PAYNE  POWELL  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  George 
C.  Powell,  a  Baptist  minister,  who  lived  at  the  time  of 
the  assassination  at  Live  Oak  Station,  on  the  railroad 
between  Jacksonville  and  Tallahassee,  Fla.  The  family 
consisted  of  six  daughters  and  three  sons.  Lewis  and  his 
two  brothers  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  in  1861. 
His  two  brothers  were  killed  in  battle,  and  Lewis,  in 
Pickett's  charge  at  Gettysburg,  was  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner.  Upon  his  recovery  he  was  detailed  as  nurse 
in  a  hospital,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  sent  to 
another  hospital  at  Baltimore,  in  October,  1863.  From 
there  he  deserted,  returning  to  the  Confederate  army, 
remaining  at  Fauquier,  Va.,  until  January  i,  1865, 
when  he  again  deserted  and  returned  to  Baltimore, 
taking  rooms  with  Miss  Margaret  Branson,  a  lady 


138         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

whom  he  met  in  the  hospital  at  Gettysburg.  After 
he  deserted  he  assumed  the  name  of  Payne.  It  was 
at  Miss  Branson's  that  he  first  met  Booth,  and  readily 
fell  in  with  the  work  of  the  conspiracy.  During  the  trial 
Payne  was  the  observed  of  all  observers,  as  he  sat  mo- 
tionless and  imperturbed,  defiantly  returning  each  gaze 
at  his  remarkable  face  and  person.  He  was  very  tall, 
with  an  athletic,  gladiatorial  frame,  the  light  knit  shirt 
which  was  his  only  upper  garment  disclosing  the  mas- 
sive robustness  of  animal  manhood  in  its  most  stalwart 
type.  Neither  intellect  nor  intelligence  was  discernible 
in  his  unflinching  dark  gray  eyes,  low  forehead,  massive 
jaws,  compressed  full  lips,  small  nose  with  large  nostrils, 
and  stolid,  remorseless  expression.  His  dark  hair  hung 
over  his  forehead,  his  face  was  beardless,  and  his  hands 
were  not  those  of  a  man  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
labor.  Payne  held  himself  responsible  to  a  great  degree 
for  the  execution  of  Mrs.  Surratt.  He  claimed  that  had 
he  not  gone  to  her  house,  where  she  declared  that  she 
had  never  seen  him  before,  she  might  have  been  par- 
doned; but  this  declaration  of  hers  formed  the  strongest 
barrier  to  her  release.  While  in  jail,  as  the  chances  of 
her  reprieve  grew  less,  he  cursed  his  weakness  in  return- 
ing to  her  house. 

Dr.  SAMUEL  A.  MUDD  .was  the  most  inoffensive  and 
respectable  in  appearance  of  all  the  prisoners.  He  was 
forty-five  years  of  age,  rather  tall,  and  quite  thin,  with 
sharp  features,  a  high  bald  forehead,  astute  blue  eyes, 
compressed  pale  lips,  and  sandy  hair,  whiskers,  and  mus- 
tache. He  was  known  throughout  the  war  as  a  strong 
sympathizer  with  the  rebellion.  In  the  community  in 
which  he  lived  he  was  held  in  high  esteem  as  an  hon- 
orable gentleman.  A  determined  effort  was  made  during 


LEWIS    PAYNE. 

Executed  July  7,  1865. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


SKETCHES   OF  THE   CONSPIRATORS.  14! 

the  trial  to  clear  him  of  any  complicity  with  the  great 
conspiracy,  but  the  effort  was  in  vain,  as  the  evidence  and 
his  own  confessions  proved  his  guilt.  Statements  were 
made  at  the  time  of  the  trial  that  Booth  forced  himself 


DR.   SAMUEL  A.   MUDD. 


Sentenced  for  life  to  Dry  Tortugas,  and  received  a  full  and  unconditional 
pardon  from  President  Andrew  Johnson,  February  8,  1869. 

upon  Dr.  Mudd,  and  this  is  yet  claimed  by  some.  In 
November,  1864,  Booth  attended  St.  Mary's  Roman 
Catholic  Church  near  Bryantown,  and  a  few  days  after 
he  met  Dr.  William  T.  Bowman  of  Bryantown,  and 


142         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

asked  him  if  he  knew  anyone  who  had  any  land  to  sell, 
and,  after  getting  prices  on  Bowman's  farm,  asked  him 
if  he  had  any  horses  to  sell.  Mr.  Bowman  said  he  could 
accommodate  him,  when  Booth  said  he  would  be  down 
in  a  couple  of  weeks  and  look  at  the  land.  Of  Mr.  John 
C.  Thompson  of  Charles  County  at  the  same  time  he 
asked  the  price  of  land,  and  particularly  did  he  inquire 
about  the  roads  through  that  part  of  the  country.  On 
this  trip  Booth  stopped  a  day  or  two  with  Dr.  Queen,  to 
whom  he  had  a  letter  of  introduction  from  a  party  in 
Canada.  Dr.  Queen  and  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Thompson, 
attended  church  near  Bryantown,  and  Booth  sat  with 
them  in  Dr.  Queen's  pew.  It  was  here  that  Booth  and 
Dr.  Mudd  first  met,  being  introduced  by  Thompson. 
Booth  again  visited  this  part  of  the  country  the  follow- 
ing month  (December),  stopping  again  with  Dr.  Queen 
over  night.  A  few  days  after  this  visit  Dr.  Bowman  said 
to  Dr.  Mudd:  "  I  am  going  to  sell  my  land."  Dr.  Mudd 
asked  to  whom  he  expected  to  sell,  and  Bowman  said: 
"  To  a  man  by  the  name  of  Booth,  who  said  he  was 
coming  down  soon."  Dr.  Mudd  then  said:  "  That  fellow 
promised  to  buy  mine."  Booth  had  no  intention  of 
buying  lands;  he  simply  wanted  to  familiarize  himself 
with  the  roads,  and  the  people  in  whom  he  could  trust, 
and  it  was  upon  these  two  visits  that  the  conspiracy 
was  formed  to  abduct  the  President.  That  was  his 
object,  so  far  as  this  section  of  country  was  con- 
cerned. Booth  stopped  over  night  at  Dr.  Mudd's  during 
these  two  visits,  and  at  the  time  of  his  first  visit  in  No- 
vember went  with  Booth  to  Squire  George  Gardiner's, 
who  lived  in  sight  of  Dr.  Mudd's,  not  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant.  The  two  went  on  horseback.  Booth 
told  Mr.  Gardiner  that  he  was  desirous  of  purchasing  a 
horse  to  run  a  light  buggy  in  which  to  travel  over  the 


SKETCHES   OF  THE   CONSPIRATORS.  143 

lower  counties  of  Maryland;  and  {hat  he  might  look  at 
the  lands,  as  he  desired  to  buy  some.  Mr.  Gardiner  told 
him  he  had  but  one  horse  that  he  could  recommend  as  a 
buggy  horse,  but  could  not  spare  it,  as  he  wanted  it  for 
his  own  use.  Mr.  Gardiner  showed  him  an  old  saddle 
horse,  that  he  thought  would  suit  him.  Booth  examined 
the  animal  and  said  he  thought  it  would  answer,  as  he 
only  wanted  it  for  a  year.  It  was  a  dark  bay,  one- 
eyed,  and  Booth  bought  and  paid  for  it.  Thomas  L. 
Gardiner,  a  nephew  of  Squire  Gardiner,  said  he  delivered 
the  horse  to  Booth  at  Bryantown  the  next  day.  Booth 


ST.  MARY'S  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

One  mile  south  of  Bryantown,  Md.  Dr.  Mtidd  attended  this  church,  and 
here  first  met  Booth.  His  remains  lie  in  the  graveyard  a  few  feet  from 
the  church. 


144         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

kept  it  at  William  E.  Cleaver's  livery  stable  on  Sixth 
Street,  Washington,  from  the  ist  to  the  3oth  of  January, 
1865,  when  he  told  Cleaver  that  he  sold  it  to  Arnold. 
Arnold  paid  eight  dollars  for  its  keeping  for  the  eight 
days  that  it  remained  in  the  stable  after  the  so-called 
purchase. 

Dr.  Mudd  and  his  brother,  Jeremiah  T.  Mudd,  went 
to  Washington  on  the  23d  of  December,  1864,  returning 
home  the  next  day.  They  left  their  horses  at  Robert 
T.  Martin's  in  Anacostia,  a  hotel  about  one  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  Eastern  Branch  bridge.  Persons 
going  to  Washington  from  the  vicinity  of  Bryantown 
passed  by  it,  and  it  was  a  general  stopping  place  for 
them.  The  two  then  went  across  the  bridge  to  Wash- 
ington and  stayed  at  the  Pennsylvania  House  all  night. 
They  visited  the  National  Hotel  after  supper,  and  in  a 
large  crowd  became  separated,  but  afterward  met  at  the 
Pennsylvania  House.  It  was  during  this  temporary 
separation  that  Dr.  Mudd  and  Booth  met,  as  described 
by  Weichmann  and  corroborated  by  Dr.  Mudd  in  a  state- 
ment made  to  George  W.  Dutton,  Captain  Company  C, 
loth  Regiment  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  commanding  the 
guard  that  took  Dr.  Mudd  and  the  other  prisoners  to  the 
Dry  Tortugas,  Fla.  Captain  Dutton  said:  "  During  a 
conversation  with  Dr.  Mudd  on  the  22d  of  July,  1865, 
Mudd  confessed  that  he  knew  Booth  when  he  came  to  his 
house  with  Herold  on  the  morning  after  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  President ;  that  he  had  known  Booth  for  some 
time,  but  was  afraid  to  tell  of  Booth's  having  been  at  his 
house  on  the  I5th  of  April,  fearing  that  his  own  and  the 
lives  of  his  family  would  be.  endangered  thereby.  He 
also  confessed  that  he  was  with  Booth  at  the  National 
Hotel  on  the  evening  referred  to  by  Weichmann  in  his 
testimony;  that  he  came  to  Washington  on  that  occasion 


SKETCHES   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS.  145 

to  meet  Booth  by  appointment,  as  the  latter  wished  to 
be  introduced  to  John  Surratt;  that  when  he  and  Booth 
were  going  to  Mrs.  Surratt's  house  to  see  her  son,  they 
met,  on  Seventh  Street,  Surratt,  who  was  introduced 
to  Booth,  and  they  had  a  conversation  of  a  private 
nature.  I  will  here  add  that  Dr.  Mudd  had  with  him 
a  printed  copy  of  the  testimony  pertaining  to  his  trial, 
and  I  had  upon  a  number  of  occasions  referred  to  the 
same.  I  will  also  say  that  this  confession  was  voluntary, 
and  made  without  solicitation,  threat,  or  promise,  and 
was  made  after  the  destination  of  the  prisoners  was  com- 
municated to  them,  which  communication  affected  Dr. 
Mudd  more  than  the  rest,  and  he  frequently  exclaimed, 
'  Oh,  there  is  now  no  hope  for  me!  Oh,  I  cannot  live 
in  such  a  place! ' ' 

When  the  officers  called  at  Mudd's  house  the  Tuesday 
after  the  assassination,  he  denied  that  he  knew  either  of 
the  criminals,  and  at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  on  the  Friday 
following,  he  prevaricated,  but  finally  admitted  that  he 
knew  Booth.  He  said  he  first  heard  of  the  assassination 
at  church  on  the  Sunday  after  it  was  committed ;  but  that 
statement  was  false,  for  between  four  and  five  o'clock 
on  Saturday  afternoon,  April  15,  he  called  at  the  house 
of  Francis  R.  Farrell,  who  lived  halfway  between  Dr. 
Mudd's  and  Bryantown,  a  short  distance  off  the  road. 
During  this  visit  of  not  more  than  fifteen  minutes  Dr. 
Mudd  said  that  the  President  had  been  assassinated  by 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Booth.  When  Dr.  Mudd  was 
asked  whether  it  was  the  Booth  that  was  down  there  the 
fall  before,  he  replied  that  he  did  not  know,  for  there 
were  three  or  four  men  by  that  name ;  but  if  that  was  the 
one,  he  knew  him.  He  made  no  allusion  to  the  two  men 
that  had  spent  the  day  at  his  house.  Dr.  Mudd  said  that 
he  thought  at  that  time  the  killing  of  the  President  was 


146         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

the  worst  thing  that  could  have  happened,  and  that  it 
would  make  it  a  great  deal  worse  for  the  country.  He 
received  his  information  of  the  assassination  from  a  visit 
to  Bryantown  in  the  afternoon,  after  the  soldiers  had 
arrived.  Dr.  Mudd's  second  visit  to  Washington  was  on 
the  1 5th  of  January,  1865,  and  according  to  the  testi- 
mony his  third  visit  was  on  the  3d  of  March,  1865,  the 
day  preceding  the  inauguration,  when  Booth  was  to 
strike  the  traitorous  blow.  His  fourth  visit  was  on  the 
23d  of  March,  1865,  in  company  with  a  neighbor,  Thomas 
L.  Gardiner.  This  date  will  be  remembered  by  some 
of  the  old  inhabitants  of  Washington  as  the  occasion 
of  the  visit  of  a  tornado  that  swept  over  the  city,  unroof- 
ing several  houses  and  killing  a  negro.  The  two  men 
stayed  all  night  in  the  city  at  the  residence  of  Henry  A. 
Clark,  returning  home  the  next  day.  Proof  was  pre- 
sented showing  that  Dr.  Mudd  did  not  converse  with 
Booth  during  this  visit,  as  quite  a  party  of  men  spent  the 
evening,  until  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock,  at  the 
office  of  Dr.  Charles  Clark.  By  testimony  at  the  trial  the 
first  and  second  visits  were  proven  to  have  been  made, 
but  no  mention  was  made  of  those  of  January  15  and 
March  3.  Dr.  Mudd's  friends  attempted  to  prove  an 
alibi  on  all  dates  except  the  first  two. 

SAMUEL  ARNOLD  was  a  native  of  Maryland.  His  par- 
ents resided  in  Baltimore,  and  a  brother  lived  at  Hooks- 
town,  about  six  miles  from  Baltimore.  He  was  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  assassination.  He 
joined  the  Confederate  army  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
rebellion. 

EDWARD  SPANGLER  was  a  middle-aged  man,  with  a 
large,  unintelligent  face,  swollen  evidently  by  intern- 


SKETCHES   OF  THE   CONSPIRATORS.  147 

perance,  a  low  forehead,  gray  eyes,  and  brown  hair.  He 
was  born  in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had 
respectable  connections.  He  considered  Baltimore  his 


SAMUEL    ARNOLD. 

Sentenced  for  life  to  Dry  Tortugas,  Fla.    Released  from  prison  March  21, 
1869,  by  pardon  from  President  Andrew  Johnson. 

home,  having  buried  his  wife  there  a  year  previous  to 
the  assassination.  He  usually  spent  his  summer  months, 
during  the  vacation  of  the  theater,  chiefly  at  crab- 
bing, at  which  he  was  considered  an  expert.  He  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  in  the  conspiracy  at  an  earlier  period 
than  a  few  hours  before  the  commission  of  the  crime.  If 
he  was  guilty,  his  participation  would  seem  to  have  been 


148 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


in  preparing  the  means  of  escape  by  keeping  the  passage- 
way clear  on  the  stage,  closing  the  back  door  after  Booth 
had  passed  through,  -so  as  to  retard  the  movements  of 
pursuers,  loosening  the  screws  to  the  locks  in  the  doors 


EDWARD    SPANGLER. 

Stage  hand  at  Ford's  Theater.  Sentenced  to  Dry  Tortugas  for  six  years. 
Released  from  prison  March  21,  1869,  having  received  an  official  pardon 
from  President  Andrew  Johnson. 


leading  to  the  President's  box,  and  preparing  the  bar  of 
wood  with  which  to  fasten  the  door  leading  into  the  pas- 
sageway from  the  audience.  He  knew  the  purposes  of 
Booth,  and  promised  to  help  him. 


SKETCHES   OF   THE   CONSPIRATORS. 


149 


The  parents  of  MICHAEL  O'LAUGHLIN  lived  in  Balti- 
more for  thirty  years  preceding  the  assassination.  Michael 
went  there  from  the  South  during  the  war,  and  on  the 
1 6th  of  June,  1863,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  in  the 


MICHAEL    O'LAUGHLIN. 


Sentenced  for  life  to  Dry  Tortugas,  Fla.    Died  of  yellow  fe%Ter  while  in 
prison,  September  23,  1867. 


office  of  Marshal  James  L.  McPhail  at  Baltimore.  He 
had  been  in  the  Confederate  army  previous  to  taking  the 
oath.  He  was  a  schoolmate  of  J.  Wilkes  Booth,  and  his 
family  lived  in  property  owned  by  Booth's  mother.  He 
was  a  small,  delicate-looking  man,  with  rather  pleasing 


150         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

features,  uneasy  black  eyes,  bushy  black  hair,  a  heavy 
black  mustache  and  imperial,  and  a  most  anxious  ex- 
pression of  countenance,  shaded  by  a  sad,  remorseful 
look. 

The  following  description  of  Dry  Tortugas  is  from  the 
Scientific  American: 

"  Fort  Jefferson,  Dry  Tortugas,  Fla.,  is  called  by  mili- 
tary men  the  safest  fort  in  the  world,  and  the  most  use- 
less. Jt  is  one  of  the  largest  fortifications  of  masonry  the 
United  States  Government  has  ever  built,  and  one  of 
the  most  expensive.  During  the  Civil  War  it  was  used 
for  a  military  prison,  and  at  present  it  is  used  for  a  Fed- 
eral quarantine  station.  It  has  been  utterly  worthless 
from  the  beginning,  except  the  use  it  was  put  to  during 
the  war.  It  commands  nothing  but  two  or  three  sand 
keys  and  an  unbroken  stretch  of  blue  water  over  which 
the  navies  of  the  world  might  pass  without  coming  within 
range  of  its  guns.  It  is  more  than  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  nearest  point  of  the  mainland.  The  first  ap- 
propriation by  Congress  for  its  construction  was  made 
in  1844. 

"  It  was  in  this  fort  that  Dr.  Mudd,  O'Laughlin, 
Spangler,  and  Arnold  were  confined  for  the  part  they 
took  in  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln.  The 
room  in  which  Dr.  Mudd  was  confined  was  twelve  feet 
wide  by  twenty  feet  long,  with  stone  floor,  and  lighted 
dimly  by  an  open  port-hole.  Someone  had  painted  upon 
the  heavy  plank  door,  in  large  letters,  '  Leave  hope  be- 
hind who  enters  here.'  Dr.  Mudd  did  not  leave  hope 
behind  when  he  entered  the  bastion  cell,  although  he  re- 
mained a  prisoner  until  1869.  An  unusually  deadly  epi- 
demic of  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  the  fort,  soldiers  and 
prisoners  dying  by  the  score  every  day,  and  all  the 


SKETCHES  OF  THE   CONSPIRATORS.  151 

neighboring  sand  keys  were  dotted  with  graves.  Every 
surgeon  on  the  post  had  been  carried  away,  and  the  com- 
mandant was  almost  in  despair,  when  Dr.  Mudd  offered 
his  professional  services.  They  were  gladly  accepted, 


FORT  JEFFERSON,    DRY   TORTUGAS,   FLA., 

In  which  four  of  the  conspirators,  Dr.  Mudd,  O'Laughlin,  Arnold,  and 
Spangler,  were  confined. 

and  his  first  act  was  the  enlargement  of  all  the  port- 
holes in  the  upper  casements,  to  give  his  patients  more 
air.  This  treatment  gave  good  results,  and  he  soon  had 
the  epidemic  under  control.  All  the  officers  of  the  post 
united  in  signing  a  petition  to  President  Johnson  ask- 


152         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

ing  for  his  release  on  account  of  the  valuable  services 
rendered,  and  he  was  pardoned  February  8,  1869,  and 
was  released  from  confinement  March  8.  Arnold  and 
Spangler  were  released  from  the  same  prison  March  21, 
1869.  Michael  O'Laughlin  died  of  yellow  fever  while 
in  the  fort,  September  23,  1867." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

LOUIS    J.    WEICHMANN. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  persons  in  the  conspiracy 
trial  was  Mr.  L.  J.  Weichmann,  who  was  the  chief  wit- 
ness for  the  Government. 

Mr.  Weichmann  was  born  in  1842,  in  Baltimore,  Md., 
of  honest,  hard-working  Germans,  the  mother  being  a 
strong  Catholic,  and  the  father  equally  as  pronounced  a 
Lutheran.  In  1844  his  father  removed  to  the  city  of 
Washington,  where  he  carried  on  the  business  of  mer- 
chant tailoring  until  1853,  when  he  concluded  to  make 
his  home  in  Philadelphia.  In  Washington  the  physician 
of  his  father's  family  was  Dr.  Jonathan  F.  May,  who 
subsequently  became  the  physician  of  J.  Wilkes  Booth, 
and  identified  his  body,  and  among  Mr.  Weichmann's 
acquaintances  at  that  early  day  was  Petersen,  the  tailor, 
in  whose  house  President  Lincoln  died. 

In  Philadelphia  young  Mr.  Weichmann  was  sent  to 
the  public  schools,  and  in  1859  was  graduated  from  the 
High  School  with  a  two  years'  course. 

Now  began  the  worrimerit  of  choosing  a  business  or 
profession  in  life  for  the  young  man.  After  mature  de- 
liberation on  the  part  of  his  parents,  it  was  decided  that 
he  should  become  a  student  for  the  Catholic  priesthood. 
His  father  had  become  a  convert  to  that  Church  by  this 
time.  Accordingly  negotiations  were  opened  with  a 
prominent  clergyman  in  Washington,  Rev.  E.  Q.  S. 
Waldron,  and  finally  a  bishop  was  secured  for  whom 

153 


154         ASSASSINATION  OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Weichmann  was  to  study  and  in  whose  diocese  he  was 
to  labor — the  Rt.  Rev.  John  McGill,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of 
Richmond,  Va. 

Weichmann  was  now  (March  i,  1859)  sent  to  the  pre- 
paratory college  of  St.  Charles  in  Howard  County,  Mary- 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN. 

A  boarder  at  Mrs.  Surratt's,  who,  in  his  testimony  before  the  Com- 
mission, gave  some  convincing  proofs  of  the  guilt  of  Mrs.  Surratt,  although 
he  was  innocent  of  any  knowledge  of  her  designs  until  after  the  testimony 
given  by  John  M.  Lloyd. 

land,  twenty-five  miles  from  Baltimore,  an  institution 
under  the  care  of  the  Sulpician  Fathers,  a  French  reli- 
gious order  having  for  its  object  the  training  of  young 
men  for  the  Catholic  priesthood. 

Everything  here  went  on  as  pleasantly  as  possible  for 
the  novice,  who  was  much  pleased  with  his  new  home, 
and  became  strongly  attached  to  the  vocation  marked 
out  for  him. 


LOUIS  J.    WEICHMANN.  155 

In  September,  1859,  among  the  new  arrivals  at  this 
place  was  John  Harrison  Surratt.  The  same  clergyman, 
Rev.  Mr.  Waldron,  who  had  recommended  Weichmann 
to  St.  Charles  also  recommended  Surratt,  and  the  bishop 
chosen  for  him  was  Rt.  Rev.  Augustine  Verot,  D.  D.,  of 
St.  Augustine,  Fla.  Surratt  at  that  time  was  sixteen 
years  of  age.  He  was  tall  and  slender,  dignified  in  man- 
ner, genial  in  nature,  and  at  once  won  many  friends 
among  the  students.  He  was  a  very  pronounced 
Southern  man,  but  in  no  instance  did  he  make  himself 
offensive  to  anyone  by  his  views. 

At  this  school  John  H.  Surratt  was  an  exemplary 
student,  and  when  he  left  in  1862  it  was  with  genuine 
feelings  of  regret  on  the  part  of  the  president,  Rev. 
Oliver  Jenkins,  who  had  become  much  attached  to  him. 

Weichmann  also  left  school  in  July,  1862,  going  to  his 
home  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  spent  his  vacation.  He 
endeavored  to  get  permission  from  his  bishop  to  enter 
the  larger  seminary  at  Baltimore,  but  in  consequence  of 
the  war  was  unable  to  do  so.  In  this  dilemma  he  re- 
solved to  devote  himself  to  teaching.  He  again  had  re- 
course to  Dr.  Waldron,  for  whom  he  went  to  teach  in 
September,  at  Pikesville,  Md.,  but  did  not  remain  longer 
with  him  than  two  months.  Then  Mr.  Weichmann  went 
to  teach  for  Rev.  Wm.  Mahony,  at  Little  Texas,  Md., 
on  the  line  of  the  Northern  Central  Railroad,  about 
twenty  miles  from  Baltimore.  Here  he  remained  until 
December,  1863,  when  his  schoolhouse  was  burned 
down,  and  he  was  obliged  to  look  elsewhere  for  em- 
ployment. A  paper,  the  Catholic  Mirror,  fell  into  his 
hands  about  that  time.  In  it  he  saw  an  advertisement  of 
Rev.  Charles  I.  White.  D.  D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  who 
desired  a  teacher  for  St.  Matthew's  Institute  on  Nine- 
teenth Street,  between  G  and  H.  Mr.  Weichmann  an- 


156         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

swered  the  advertisement,  inclosing  a  note  of  recom- 
mendation from  Father  Mahony.  The  place  was  won 
without  much  difficulty,  and  in  this  way  it  was  that  Mr. 
Weichmann  came  to  Washington,  then  the  center  of 
military  operations  for  the  preservation  and  restoration 
of  the  Union. 

John  H.  Surratt  in  the  meantime  had  returned  to  his 
home  at  Surrattsville  in  Maryland.  This  place  was  distant 
from  Washington  about  thirteen  miles,  and  was  situated 
on  the  line  of  the  Bryantown  road,  running  direct  from 
Washington  to  the  Potomac  River.  In  September,  1862, 
John  H.  Surratt  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Surratts- 
ville, which  position  he  retained  until  November  17, 
1863,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Andrew  V.  Roby. 
As  postmaster  he  was  compelled  to  take  the  oath  of  al- 
legiance to  the  United  States  Government.  His  father, 
John  H.  Surratt,  Sr.,  a  good  Union  man,  died  in  July, 
1862. 

When  Surratt  learned  that  his  old  friend  Weichmann 
was  in  Washington,  he  promptly  called  on  him  at  his 
school,  was  pleasantly  received,  and  the  old  college  ac- 
quaintance was  feelingly  renewed.  Henceforth  Surratt 
was  one  of  his  constant  visitors  and  friends,  and  was  al- 
ways received  pleasantly  and  treated  generously. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1863  Surratt  invited  Weichmann 
to  his  home.  The  invitation  was  eagerly  accepted. 
When  Weichmann  reached  Surrattsville  he  was  intro- 
duced to  Mrs.  Surratt  and  her  daughter  Annie,  and  was 
received  and  treated  most  courteously.  He  went  down 
on  one  Friday  and  remained  until  the  following  Monday 
morning. 

Mrs.  Surratt's  family  at  that  time  consisted  of  her  son, 

•  John,  and  her  daughter,  Annie.    There  was  an  older  son 

by  the  name  of  Isaac,  but  he  had  left  at  the  beginning 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  157 

of  the  war,  and  had  gone  "south  and  sought  employment 
in  his  chosen  profession  of  engineer,  in  the  Confederate 
army.  He  was  the  oldest  of  the  family,  Annie  the  sec- 
ond, and  John  the  youngest.  Mrs.  Surratt  was  then 
about  forty-five  years  of  age. 

On  the  morning  after  his  arrival  Weichmann  was 
awakened  quite  early  from  his  sleep  by  the  sound  of 
music  under  his  window.  He  was  soon  called  down  by 
Surratt.  He  saw  a  party  of  musicians,  a  portion  of  the 
Marine  Band  of  Washington,  who  had  come  down  to 
serenade  some  newly  elected  county  officials.  With  them 
was  a  sprightly  black-haired  and  frowsy-headed  young 
man,  who  was  "  hail  fellow,  well  met "  among  the  party. 
Weichmann  was  soon  introduced  to  him  as  Mr.  David 
E.  Herold.  Two  years  later  this  young  man  became  one 
of  the  conspirators  against  Lincoln.  He  it  was  who  es- 
caped with  Booth  from  Washington  on  the  night  of  the 
assassination,  was  taken  in  the  burning  Garrett  barn, 
and  subsequently  hanged.  In  this  way  it  was  that  Mr. 
Weichmann  made  Herold's  acquaintance  two  years  be- 
fore the  murder,  and  thus  it  was  shown  that  Surratt  was 
Herold's  friend  at  that  early  date. 

During  this  visit  Weichmann  spoke  of  his  intention  to 
visit  St.  Charles  College  during  the  approaching  Easter 
holidays,  and  it  was  arranged  for  Surratt  to  go  along. 
They  reached  the  college  on  Thursday,  April  2,  1863,  and 
were  gladly  welcomed  by  the  students  and  professors. 
They  spent  a  very  pleasant  time  in  the  old  college 
grounds,  and  when  the  hour  came  to  leave,  it  was  with 
sincere  regret.  Weichmann  told  Father  Denis  that  he 
would  visit  Little  Texas.  Father  Denis  then  told  him 
that  he  would  find  there  a  young  man,  one  Henri  B.  de 
Ste.  Marie,  who  had  been  one  of  his  pupils  in  the  college 
at  Montreal,  and  handing  Weichmann  an  Italian  paper, 


158         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

the  Eco  d'ltalia,  to  give  to  Mr.  Ste.  Marie,  remarked  that 
Ste.  Marie  was  an  excellent  student,  and  spoke  both 
French  and  Italian  well. 

When  they  reached  Little  Texas,  Weichmann  was  pre- 
sented to  Mr.  Ste.  Marie,  and,  in  turn,  he  introduced 
Mr.  Surratt  to  his  newly  found  friend.  This  was  a  re- 
markable introduction,  and  subsequently  was  worth  just 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  Ste.  Marie,  for  he  it  was  who, 
nearly  three  years  later,  identified  Zouave  Surratt  while 
serving  in  the  Papal  army  at  Veroli,  Italy.  That  intro- 
duction and  subsequent  identification  in  Italy  will 
never  be  forgotten  by  John  H.  Surratt  as  long  as  he 
lives. 

On  the  /th  of  January,  1864,  Mr.  Weichmann  was  ap- 
pointed a  clerk  in  the  War  Department,  at  a  salary  of 
eighty  dollars  per  month.  This  change  in  his  pecuniary 
circumstances  was  in  every  way  a  help  to  the  recipient. 
He  soon  moved  into  another  boarding-house,  kept  by  a 
Mr.  Purnell,  a  colored  caterer.  In  this  house  one  of  the 
boarders  was  General  A.  P.  Howe,  subsequently  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Commission  which  tried  Surratt's  mother. 

In  August,  1864,  Mr.  Weichmann  became  a  member 
of  the  "  War  Department  Rifles,"  a  regiment  from 
among  the  clerks  of  the  War  Department  for  the  de- 
fense of  Washington  City,  and  continued  with  it  until 
the  end  of  the  war. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  he  again  visited  Surrattsville,  and 
was  received  as  pleasantly  as  on  the  occasion  of  his  first 
visit.  It  was  at  that  time  that  Mrs.  Surratt  and  her  son 
announced  to  him  their  intention  to  remove  to  Washing- 
ton, and  to  occupy  their  home,  No.  541  H  Street. 
Weichmann  was  invited  to  become  a  boarder  and  resi- 
dent. He  agreed  to  do  so,  and  stipulated  to  pay  thirty- 
five  dollars  per  month  for  board  and  room. 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  159 

Accordingly  on  the  1st  of  November,  1864,  Mrs.  Sur- 
ratt  took  possession  of  her  city  home.  Her  son  and 
daughter  were  there  from  the  start,  but  she  herself  did 
not  go  there  until  December  I,  1864.  On  that  day 
she  leased  her  Surrattsville  home  to  John  M.  Lloyd  for 
five  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  Weichmann  being  a  wit- 
ness to  the  lease.  Mrs.  Surratt's  Washington  home  was 
soon  filled  with  good  and  desirable  boarders.  A  Mr. 
Holohan  with  his  wife  and  two  children  occupied  the 
two  front  second-story  rooms.  A  Miss  Honora  Fitz- 
patrick,  a  good  woman  and  most  excellent  lady,  roomed 
with  the  daughter,  Annie,  and  a  young  girl  about  nine 
years  of  age,  named  Appollonia  Dean,  was  also  one  of 
the  inmates.  Thus  the  house  was  full  from  the  start,  and 
was  a  paying  institution.  It  was  a  pleasant  and  happy 
home  during  November  and  December,  1864,  and  in  all 
that  was  developed  at  the  two  trials  of  1865  and  1867 
there  was  not  so  much  as  the  scratch  of  a  pin's  head 
alleged  against  that  home  during  that  period.  But  its 
peace  was  short-lived — John  Wilkes  Booth  had  not  yet 
crossed  its  threshold. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  1864,  Louis  J.  Weichmann 
and  John  H.  Surratt  were  standing  in  front  of  this  house, 
and  having  a  very  pleasant  and  social  time  together. 
Weichmann  expressed  a  desire  to  go  down  toward  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  as  he  desired  to  purchase  a  few  Christ- 
mas presents  for  his  sisters  in  Philadelphia,  wishing  to 
give  them  at  the  approaching  holidays.  Surratt  promptly 
and  willingly  consented  to  accompany  him.  Neither 
Weichmann  nor  Surratt  expected  to  meet  anyone. 

When  about  halfway  down  Seventh  Street,  directly  op- 
posite Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  somebody  called  out,  "  Sur- 
ratt! Surratt!" 

"  John,  someone  is  calling  you,"  said  Weichmann. 


l6o         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Quickly  Surratt  turned  and  recognized  in  the  caller 
an  old  friend — Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudd,  from  Bryan- 
town,  Md.  Dr.  Mudd  was  accompanied  by  a  stranger. 

"  Why,  doctor,  how  do  you  do?  Let  me  present  to 
you  my  friend,  Mr.  Weichmann." 

The  doctor  gave  Mr.  Weichmann  his  hand,  and  pleas- 
antly acknowledged  the  introduction,  and  then  bringing 
forward  his  companion  said,  "  And  you,  gentlemen,  let 
me  introduce  to  you  my  friend,  Mr.  Boone." 

Mr.  Boone  thereupon  shook  hands  with  Surratt  and 
Weichmann,  saying  at  the  same  time:  "Gentlemen,  re- 
trace your  steps  and  come  to  my  rooms  at  the  hotel. 
We  will  have  some  refreshments  together." 

The  invitation  was  accepted.  On  reaching  his  room, 
No.  82,  at  the  National  Hotel,  Boone  at  once  pulled  the 
call  bell,  and  of  the  waiter  who  responded  he  requested 
that  he  serve  milk  punches  and  cigars  for  four.  This  was 
promptly  done,  the  punches  were  sipped,  the  cigars 
puffed,  and  a  pleasant  and  enjoyable  time  was  had. 

When  this  was  over,  Dr.  Mudd  arose,  went  into  the 
entry  that  led  past  the  room,  and  called  out  Booth  after 
him.  (All  this  time  Weichmann  was  under  the  impres- 
sion that  the  name  given  him  was  Boone.)  These  two 
men  probably  remained  in  the  entry  ten  minutes  or  more, 
then  returned  and  called  out  Surratt.  They  now  stayed 
out  some  time  longer,  and  on  returning  to  the  room  Dr. 
Mudd  approaching  Mr.  Weichmann  said,  "  Too  bad,  too 
bad!  to  leave  you  alone  so  long;  very  ungentlemanly  and 
impolite.  Mr.  Boone  had  some  private  business  with 
me.  The  fact  is,  he  wishes  to  purchase  my  farm,  but 
don't  want  to  give  me  enough  for  it."  Boone  also  said 
something  to  the  same  effect. 

Then  these  three  men  seated  themselves  around  a 
table  about  six  feet  from  Weichmann,  and  began  a  con- 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  l6l 

versation  audible  only  as  to  sound,  no  portion  of  which 
he  did  or  could  distinguish. 

After  this  was  over  the  party  broke  up,  and  Dr.  Mudd 
asked  the  gentlemen  around  to  his  room  at  the  Penn- 
sylvania House  on  C  Street.  On  arriving  there  Boone 
and  Surratt  seated  themselves  together  on  a  sofa  near 
the  blazing  hearth,  and  Weichmann  and  Mudd  had  an 
interview  to  themselves.  Mudd  was  a  thoroughly  Union 
man  in  all  his  utterances,  and  not  a  disloyal  word  was 
uttered  by  him. 

The  company  separated  about  ten  o'clock,  the  gentle- 
men bidding  each  other  good-night  very  pleasantly. 
That  night  on  the  way  home  Surratt  remarked  to  Weich- 
mann that  the  brilliant  young  man  he  had  met  was  no 
less  a  personage  than  John  Wilkes  Booth,  the  famous 
actor.  That  was  Weichmann's  first  meeting  with  Booth, 
and  his  first  and  only  meeting  with  Mudd. 

Immediately  after  this  introduction  to  Booth  on  De- 
cember 23,  Surratt  one  day  told  Weichmann  that  he  was 
going  to  invest  in  a  cotton  speculation;  that  an  elderly 
gentleman  residing  in  the  neighborhood  would  advance 
him  three  thousand  dollars  for  that  purpose;  that  he  was 
in  pursuance  going  to  Europe,  from  Europe  to  Nassau, 
and  from  Nassau  to  Matamoras,  Mexico,  where  he  ex- 
pected to  find  his  brother,  Isaac. 

On  another  occasion  Weichmann  asked  Mrs.  Surratt 
what  John  had  to  do  with  the  purchase  of  Mudd's  farm, 
and  why  he  had  become  an  agent  for  Booth.  Her  an- 
swer was,  "  Oh,  Dr.  Mudd  and  the  people  of  Charles 
County  are  getting  tired  of  Booth,  and  they  are  pushing 
him  off  on  John." 

When  the  Government  came  to  review  this  evidence, 
it  charged  that  it  was  a  conference  looking  to  the  execu- 


162         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

tion  of  the  conspiracy,  which  so  impressed  the  prisoner 
(Mudd)  and  his  counsel  (General  Ewing)  that  they  en- 
deavored to  destroy  the  credibility  of  Mr.  Weichmann; 
but  said  Judge  Bingham:  "I  may  say  in  reference  to 
the  witness,  Weichmann,  that  they  have  not  contradicted 
a  single  fact  to  which  he  has  testified  in  this  issue,  nor 
have  they  found  a  breath  of  suspicion  against  his  char- 
acter." And  Bingham  went  on  to  speak  about  two  of 
these  men  going  into  the  entry  to  have  a  private  talk, 
then  the  third,  and  then  returning  to  the  room  and 
apologizing  for  the  privacy  of  the  interview,  Mudd  say- 
ing that  Booth  wanted  to  purchase  his  farm.  Bingham 
said  if  it  was  necessary  to  go  into  that  hall  and  talk  about 
the  purchase  of  Mudd's  farm,  why  should  they  return  to 
the  room  and  disclose  that  fact  to  the  very  man  from 
whom  they  had  concealed  it? 

This  evidence  was,  indeed,  very  important,  for  on  the 
night  of  the  assassination  Booth's  second  halting  place 
was  Dr.  Mudd's  house,  which  the  assassins  reached  about 
two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  I5th  of  April,  1865. 
Dr.  Mudd  himself  admitted  Booth  and  Herold  to  his 
home,  and  they  remained  there  nearly  all  day.  Dr.  Mudd 
set  Booth's  broken  leg,  had  a  crutch  made  for'  him,  gave 
him  a  razor  with  which  to  remove  his  mustache,  and  then 
when  the  time  came  for  the  men  to  leave,  accompanied 
them  some  distance  along  the  road. 

Three  days  after  the  murder  Lieutenant  Alexander 
Lovett  came  to  Mudd's  place,  having  traced  the  assassins 
to  that  point.  To  him  Dr.  Mudd  denied  all  knowledge 
of  Booth,  saying  that  he  had  heard  of  an  eminent 
tragedian  by  the  name  of  Edwin  Booth,  but  he  did  not 
know  John  Wilkes  Booth. 

The  detectives  left,  but  returned*  in  a  few  days  and 
arrested  Dr.  Mudd,  who  now  confessed  that  he  knew 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  163 

Booth  and  Heroic!  when  they  came  to  him;  that  he  was 
introduced  to  Booth  in  the  fall  of  1864  by  one  Mr. 
Thompson.  These  prevarications  cost  Dr.  Mudd  very 
dearly. 

When  the  conspiracy  trial  took  place,  Weichmann  was 
asked : 

"  Who  introduced  you  to  John  Wilkes  Booth?" 

"  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudd,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Point  him  out  among  the  prisoners  at  the  bar." 

Weichmann  pointed  him  out,  and  Dr.  Mudd's  face 
grew  white  as  paper,  and  he  would  have  given  his  farm 
and  every  dollar  he  owned  in  the  world  if  he  could  have 
destroyed  this  evidence.  But  that  was  impossible.  He 
was  convicted  and  sent  to  Dry  Tortugas  for  life. 

When  on  his  way  on  board  the  gunboat,  he  confessed 
to  Captain  George  W.  Dutton,  who  had  him  in  charge, 
that  Weichmann  had  told  the  truth;  that  he  had  come 
that  night  to  Washington  to  meet  Booth  by  appoint- 
ment; that  Booth  was  to  introduce  him  to  John  H.  Sur- 
ratt,  and  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  Mrs.  Surratt's  house 
for  that  purpose  when  the  accidental  meeting  took  place 
on  Seventh  Street.  Captain  Dutton  made  affidavit  to 
that  effect,  and  it  is  now  on  file  in  the  War  Department. 

Surratt,  in  his  lecture  of  December  8,  1870,  says:  "  In 
the  fall  of  1864  I  was  introduced  to  John  Wilkes  Booth." 
But  again  in  a  published  interview  on  April  3,  1898,  with 
one  Hanson  Hiss,  he  says:  "  In  the  first  place,  Wilkes 
Booth  was  never  introduced  to  me  by  Dr.  Mudd  on  the 
street  or  anywhere  else.  Booth  came  to  me  with  a  letter 
of  introduction  from  a  valued  and  trusted  friend.  In  the 
second  place,  Weichmann  was  nowhere  near  when  Booth 
presented  his  letter." 

These  admissions  on  the  part  of  Surratt  clearly  prove 
that  he  was  practicing  the  grossest  deception  on  Mr. 


164         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Weichmann  from  the  beginning  of  his  acquaintance  with 
Booth,  and  that  he  already  knew  who  Booth  was  when 
the  latter  was  introduced  to  Weichmann  on  Seventh 
Street  as  Mr.  Boone,  and  was  already  a  member  of  the 
conspiracy. 

On  the  28th  of  December,  1864,  Surratt  obtained  em- 
ployment in  the  Adams  Express  Company.  This  posi- 
tion he  did  not  retain  very  long,  for  on  or  about  the  i5th 
of  January,  1865,  he  went  to  the  agent  of  the  company 
and  desired  leave  of  absence  to  go  into  the  country  with 
his  mother,  as  her  protector.  He  was  refused,  and  then 
his  mother  went  and  interceded  for  him,  saying  she  was 
going  into  the  country  and  desired  him  along  as  her  pro- 
tector. Mr.  Dunn,  the  express  agent,  also  refused  her 
petition.  Surratt  then  left  the  company,  and  never  re- 
turned to  draw  the  pay  due  him.  That  John  Wilkes 
Booth  was  interested  in  this  visit  of  Surratt  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  two  years  after,  when  the  National  Hotel 
clerk,  Dawson,  was  overhauling  Booth's  clothing,  there 
dropped  from  the  pocket  of  a  vest  once  worn  by  Booth 
a  little  card  with  this  inscription: 

I  tried  to  secure  leave,  but  failed. — J.  HARRISON  SURRATT. 

Weichmann,  under  oath,  identified  the  handwriting  as 
that  of  Surratt,  and  thus  it  was  clearly  shown  that" 
Booth  was  much  interested  in  Surratt's  trip  to  the 
country. 

When  Atzerodt  was  on  trial  for  his  life,  he  stated  that 
Surratt  came  to  him  in  the  middle  of  January  and  se- 
cured a  boat  on  which  the  President,  when  abducted,  was 
to  be  ferried  across  the  river.  The  boat  was  capable  of 
holding  fifteen  persons.  He  said  that  Surratt  induced 
him  to  join  the  conspiracy  to  capture  the  President  under 
promises  of  a  great  fortune. 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  165 

And  it  was  not  long  before  Atzerodt  found  his  way 
to  the  Surratt  home.  One  day  in  the  latter  part  of  Jan- 
uary, on  returning  from  his-  work,  Weichmann  met  in 
the  parlor  of  the  house  a  man  who  was  introduced  to  him 
as  Mr.  Atzerodt.  There  were  in  the  room  at  the  time 
Mrs.  Surratt,  John  Surratt,  the  daughter  Annie,  and  Miss 
Fitzpatrick.  The  young  ladies  could  not  pronounce  the 
stranger's  name  well,  and  hearing  that  he  came  from  Port 
Tobacco  they  jestingly  styled  him  Mr.  Port  Tobacco. 
Little  did  these  young  people  then  realize  that  they  were 
giving  him  a  name  by  which  he  would  be  known  ever 
afterward,  and  by  which  he  would  pass  into  history! 

Atzerodt  was  a  simple,  good-hearted  countryman,  full 
of  wit  and  humor.  He  had  a  big  head,  with  an  abun- 
dance of  curly  hair,  but  his  figure  was  unprepossessing, 
and  his  head  and  face  seemed  to  be  wedged  between 
his  shoulders.  This  man  became  a  frequent  visitor  at 
Mrs.  Surratt's  house,  and  he  was  very  intimate  with  the 
son.  He  boarded  and  roomed,  when  in  the  city,  at  the 
Pennsylvania  House  on  C  Street. 

In  the  early  part  of  February,  1865,  Surratt  went  to 
New  York.  According  to  his  admissions  to  Weichmann, 
he  called  at  the  Booth  home  while  there,  and  was  never 
done  talking  about  the  large  and  handsome  house  in 
which  the  Booths  lived. 

One  evening  toward  the  close  of  February  a  carriage 
was  driven  to  the  front  of  Mrs.  Surratt's  house.  In  it 
were  John  Surratt  and  a  woman  who  was  closely  veiled. 
She  jumped  out  of  the  buggy  in  a  very  sprightly  way  and 
went  into  the  house.  Mr.  Weichmann  was  called  and 
asked  to  bring  her  trunk,  which  was  a  small  affair,  into 
the  house,  but  he  was  never  introduced  to  the  woman, 
and  at  no  time  did  he  see  her  face.  She  wore  what  was 
known  in  those  days  as  a  "  mask,"  a  thin  veil  reaching 


l66         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

down  to  the  chin.  She  remained  in  the  house  on  that 
occasion  only  one  night,  and  wher  Mr.  Weichmann 
awoke  in  the  morning  she  was  gone.  He  subsequently 
learned  that  she  was  a  dispatch  bearer  and  blockade 
runner. 

The  next  arrival  about  the  same  time  was  one 
"Spencer  Howell,"  as  he  was  called,  who  remained  in 
the  house  two  days,  and  who  was  also  engaged  in  run- 
ning the  blockade.  Mr.  Weichmann  had  a  good  deal  of 
talk  with  him,  but  gleaned  nothing  of  a  very  important 
nature.  He  was  arrested  not  long  after  his  departure 
from  the  Surratt  home,  early  in  March,  thrown  into 
prison,  and  was  there  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Mr. 
Lincoln. 

Before  leaving  Mrs.  Surratt's  house  he  had  taught 
Weichmann  a  cipher,  which  investigation  showed  was 
the  same  as  used  by  Booth  and  by  the  Confederates;  but 
Weichmann  did  not  know  this,  and  the  only  use  he  ever 
made  of  it  was  to  translate  into  it  Longfellow's  "  Psalm 
of  Life." 

But  a  bigger  surprise  than  any  yet  was  in  store  for  the 
young  and  unsuspecting  boarder.  Along  about  this 
time,  when  the  family  were  assembled  in  the  parlor  one 
evening,  the  front  doorbell  was  heard  to  ring.  Stepping 
quickly  to  the  door,  only  a  few  feet  away,  Mr.  Weich- 
mann opened  it  and  saw  before  him  a  tall  six-foot  man, 
who  wore  a  big  black,  shabby  overcoat,  with  his  hands 
buried  deep  in  his  coat  pockets. 

"Good  evening!"  said  the  stranger;  "does  Mr.  Sur- 
ratt live  here?" 

"  He  does,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Is  he  in?  " 

"  He  is  not." 

"  Well,  then,  I  would  like  to  see  Mrs.  Surratt." 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  l6? 

"  Your  name?  " 

"  Louis  Wood." 

Mr.  Weichmann  stepped  to  the  parlor  and  informed 
Mrs.  Surratt  that  a  gentleman  giving  the  name  of  Wood 
was  at  the  front  door,  and  would  like  to  see  her. 

She  bade  him  be  admitted.  Then  the  big  man  came 
into  the  house,  spoke  a  few  words  to  Mrs.  Surratt,  who 
said:  "  Mr.  Weichmann,  this  is  a  poor  man  who  has 
had  nothing  to  eat;  but  my  dining  room  is  disarranged. 
Would  you  mind  taking  his  meal  to  him  in  your  room?  " 

And  then  Mr.  Weichmann,  in  his  goodness  of  heart, 
served  the  man's  supper  to  him  in  his  own  bedroom. 
He  had  never  seen  him  before,  did  not  know  him,  and 
he  might  just  as  readily  have  dropped  from  the  clouds 
of  heaven  or  from  anywhere  else  for  all  he  knew. 

The  man  ate  voraciously,  as  if  very  hungry.  He  had 
the  eye  of  an  eagle,  and  his  hair  was  black  as  jet.  Once 
Weichmann  asked  him  where  he  was  from.  "  Balti- 
more," was  the  laconic  reply.  "  What  are  you  doing 
there?  "  "  I  am  a  clerk  in  the  china  store  of  a  Mr.  Parr." 
That  was  all.  When  the  meal  was  over  Wood  went  at 
once  to  bed,  and  in  the  morning  when  Weichmann  arose 
his  mysterious  visitor  was  gone.  Little  did  Weichmann 
dream  that  he  was  entertaining  one  who  subsequently 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  villains  of  the  age,  a 
man  then  in  the  pay  of  J.  Wilkes  Booth — the  notorious 
Lewis  Payne,  the  would-be  assassin  of  Secretary  Seward. 

On  the  3d  of  March  Booth  was  in  Mrs.  Surratt's 
parlor  a  portion  of  the  evening,  and  from  there  went  with 
Surratt  and  Weichmann  to  witness  the  expiration  of  the 
Congress  then  in  session. 

As  fate  would  have  it,  Weichmann  was  again  spending 
the  evening  with  the  family  on  the  night  of  March  13. 
The  doorbell  again  rang,  and  Mr.  Weichmann  once  more 


168         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

answered  the  summons.  He  saw  the  same  man  standing 
before  him  whom  he  had  let  into  the  house  only  a  few 
weeks  before,  but  a  complete  transformation  had  been 
effected  in  his  appearance.  In  place  of  the  shabby 
clothes  he  wore  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit,  he  was 
now  arrayed  in  a  new  and  complete  suit  of  gray.  He  had 
on  a  new,  jaunty  hat  and  wore  a  pretty  black  necktie. 

''Good-evening!"  he  said  to  Weichmann;  "is  Mr. 
Surratt  in?"  Being  told  that  Surratt  was  not  at  home, 
he  then  asked  for  Mrs.  Surratt,  giving  his  name  as  Lewis 
Payne,  and  thus  he  was  introduced  to  all  assembled  in 
the  parlor. 

It,  however,  ran  in  Weichmann's  mind  all  the  time 
that  Payne  was  not  the  name  given  at  the  time  of  the 
first  visit,  but  so  little  impression  had  his  first  appearance 
made  on  Weichmann,  that  the  latter  was  puzzled  for  a 
time  to  remember  the  name  originally  given. 

He  was  very  polite  in  his  manners  with  the  ladies, 
lifted  the  piano  cover  for  Miss  Surratt,  who  played  and 
sang  a  few  songs  for  him.  Then  he  sat  down  to  a  game 
of  euchre,  and  one  of  the  ladies  (Miss  Fitzpatrick)  called 
him  Mr.  Wood.  Then  it  was  that  his  first  name  came 
back  to  Weichmann,  who  began  to  wonder  why  this 
man  was  using  an  assumed  name,  and  what  he  was  doing 
there,  anyhow.  What  was  at  the  bottom  of  it  all?  On 
this  occasion  he  was  no  longer  a  clerk  in  a  china  store, 
but  represented  himself  as  a  Baptist  preacher. 

The  following  day,  March  14,  Surratt  returned  home 
late  in  the  afternoon.  While  Weichmann  was  in  his 
room  seated  at  his  table  writing,  Payne  walked  in.  Sur- 
ratt at  the  time  was  lying  on  the  bed.  Payne  looked  at 
him  and  said,  "  Is  this  Mr.  Surratt?  "  Weichmann  an- 
swered, "  Yes,  sir,  it  is."  Payne  then  observed,  "  I  would 
like  to  talk  privately  with  Mr.  Surratt."  This  was  all 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  169 

a  pretense,  a  make-believe  to  deceive  Weichmann,  for 
there  is  no  doubt  that  Surratt  already  knew  who  Payne 
was. 

The  next  day,  March  15,  on  returning  from  his  work 
Weichmann  found  a  false  mustache  on  his  table.  Not 
thinking  much  about  it,  and  intending  to-  have  a  little 
fun  with  it,  he  threw  it  into  a  box  that  stood  there. 

Then  Weichmann,  not  seeing  Surratt  or  Payne. around, 
went  up  to  the  back  attic.  Just  as  he  opened  the  door 
he  saw  there  the  two  men  seated  together  on  a  bed  sur- 
rounded by  spurs,  bowie  knives,  and  revolvers.  The  mo- 
ment the  door  opened  they  almost  instantly  and  uncon- 
sciously threw  their  hands  over  the  weapons  as  if  to  con- 
ceal them.  Weichmann  did  not  like  this,  and  went  down 
and  told  Mrs.  Surratt  what  he  had  seen.  She  told  him 
that  he  must  not  think  anything  of  that,  as  he  knew  her 
son  was  in  the  habit  of  going  into  the  country,  and  he 
had  to  have  these  things  as  a  protection. 

The  same  day  Surratt  showed  Weichmann  a  box  ticket 
for  the  theater,  which  had  been  given  him  by  Booth. 
Weichmann  expressed  a  desire  to  go,  but  Surratt  did  not 
wish  him  along,  for  private  reasons.  Finally  Surratt 
selected  Miss  Dean  and  Miss  Fitzpatrick  to  accompany 
him.  They  all  went  in  a  hack. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  play  Booth  came  to  the  box 
and  called  Surratt  and  Pavne  out  into  the  entry.  He  was 
very  much  excited.  What  these  men  were  after  that 
night  can  only  be  conjectured.  The  box  they  occupied 
was  the  President's.  When  the  play  was  over,  Surratt 
and  Payne  returned  the  ladies  to  the  house,  but  them- 
selves stayed  away  all  night.  As  will  be  seen  from  the 
confession  of  Samuel  Arnold,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Lichaii  House  that  night,  March  15,  at  which  the  seven 
conspirators  were  present,  and  the  proceedings  of  which 


1 70        ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

are  fully  described  in  Arnold's  confession  and  Surratt's 
lecture,  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made. 

The  next  day,  March  16,  was  a  very  important  one. 
Weichmann  had  been  at  his  desk  in  the  War  Depart- 
ment all  day,  and  as  usual  wended  his  way  homeward  at 
the  close  of  the  day's  work.  On  reaching  his  room  he 
saw  no  one;  then,  pulling  a  call  bell,  he  requested  Dan, 
the  mulatto  boy  who  did  the  chores  around  the  place, 
to  bring  some  water,  in  the  meantime  asking  him  where 
John  Surratt  was. 

"  Massa  Surratt  done  gone  from  the  front  of  the  house 
about  two  o'clock  this  afternoon  with  six  or  seven  others 
on  horseback,"  was  the  reply. 

"  With  six  or  seven  on  horseback,  Dan ;  who  were 
they?" 

"  One  was  Mr.  Booth,  then  Massa  Surratt,  Payne  who 
is  staying  here,  Atzerodt,  Dave  Herold,  and  the  other 
two  I  don't  know,"  responded  Dan;  but  subsequent  de- 
velopments proved  they  were  Arnold  and  O'Laughlin. 

It  was  a  great  pity  the  Government  could  not  utilize 
this  poor  colored  boy  as  a  witness,  but  he  was  of  weak 
mind,  was  easily  confused,  and  so  his  evidence  was  inad- 
missible. His  story,  however,  is  confirmed  by  what  hap- 
pened afterward. 

On  going  down  to  dinner  that  day  Weichmann  met 
Mrs.  Surratt  in  the  hall.  She  was  weeping  bitterly,  and 
said:  "Mr.  Weichmann,  go  down  to  your  dinner  and 
make  the  best  of  it  you  can.  John  is  gone  away!  John 
is  gone  away!  "  By  this  time  Weichmann's  curiosity 
was  pretty  well  aroused,  but  he  didn't  know  what  to 
make  of  it  all. 

After  his  dinner  he  returned  to  his  room  and  sat  down 
to  read,  entirely  unsuspicious  of  what  was  coming.  At 
about  six  or  half-past  six  o'clock  Surratt  burst  into  the 


LOUIS   J.    WEICHMANN.  i;i 

room.  He  was  very  much  excited ;  the  legs  of  his  panta- 
loons were  inside  his  boot  tops.  Seeing  Weichmann, 
he  drew  a  pistol  hastily  from  his  vest  pocket,  leveled  it 
at  him,  and  said:  "  My  prospects  are  gone;  my  hopes 
are  blasted.  Can  you  get  me  a  clerkship?  I  want  some- 
thing to  do." 

"Oh,  you  foolish  fellow!  why  don't  you  settle  down 
and  be  contented?  I  don't  understand  you  lately,  since 
your  acquaintance  with  the  actor,"  said  Weichmann. 

He  had  hardly  ceased  speaking  before  Payne  came 
into  the  room,  very  much  flushed  in  countenance,  but 
more  self-possessed  than  Surratt.  He  did  not  say  a 
word,  but  once  he  raised  his  vest  as  if  in  the  act  of  fast- 
ening a  suspender,  and  then  Weichmann  saw  a  big  re- 
volver resting  on  his  hip. 

In  a  short  time  Booth  also  came  into  the  room.  He 
wore  a  small  slouch  hat,  with  rim  turned  down,  and  had 
a  riding  whip  in  his  hand.  He  walked  around  two  or 
three  times  excitedly  in  a  circle,  as  it  were,  snapping  his 
whip.  Then  Weichmann  said,  "  Hello,  Booth!  " 

"  Why,  you  here!  I  didn't  see  you,"  answered  Booth, 
who  now  gave  a  signal  to  the  others,  and  the  three  men 
then  left  the  room  and  went  to  the  attic  upstairs. 

In  about  a  half  hour  they  descended,  and  left  the  house. 
That  was  the  last  time,  prior  to  the  assassination,  that 
Payne  was  in  Mrs.  Surratt's  house,  and  Weichmann's 
eyes  did  not  rest  on  him  again  until  he  confronted  him 
as  a  witness  at  the  conspiracy  trial. 

The  doings  of  the  day,  however,  had  unnerved  Weich- 
mann, and  he  now  for  the  first  time  since  his  advent  in 
the  Surratt  house  became  suspicious  that  something 
wrong  was  going  on  among  the  men.  He  had  seen 
them  come  and  go  and  had  treated  them  respectfully  and 
kindly.  Booth  and  Atzerodt  were  constant  visitors. 


1/3         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Herold  came  there  once  or  twice  while  Payne  was  there. 
He  used  to  wonder  why  this  sudden  and  great  friendship 
had  sprung  up  between  the  actor  and  Surratt,  but  he 
could  not  understand  it. 

Accordingly,  after  supper  on  the  night  of  March  16 
Mr.  Weichmann  started  for  the  rooms  of  one  Captain 
D.  H.  Gleason,  a  clerk  in  the  same  office  with  him,  and  to 
whom  he  used  to  tell  numbers  of  little  things  happening 
at  his  boarding-house  by  way  of  chat  and  gossip,  but  he 
did  not  find  the  captain  at  home  that  night.  The  next 
day,  however,  he  told  him  at  the  office  of  the  occurrences 
just  as  detailed  here. 

"By  God,  that  is  strange!"  said  Gleason;  "there  is 
something  wrong  going  on  there,  Weichmann." 

They  talked  the  matter  over,  and  a  number  of  possibili- 
ties were  suggested,  such  as  running  the  blockade,  releas- 
ing prisoners,  cotton  speculation,  oil  speculation,  etc., 
but  no  conclusion  was  reached. 

It  was  suggested  that  probably  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  to  go  and  tell  the  Secretary  of  War,  but  finally 
Gleason  said  that  "  inasmuch  as  what  these  men  were 
after  had  failed,  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  keep  an  eye 
on  them,  and  if  anything  again  came  up,  to  promptly 
report  it  to  the  authorities,  secure  horses  if  need  be,  and 
pursue  them."  But  nothing  occurred  to  again  excite 
Weichmann's  suspicions.  When,  however,  the  assassina- 
tion took  place,  Gleason  put  the  War  Department  in 
possession  of  the  facts  stated,  and  Weichmann  was  called 
on  for  an  explanation,  which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  he 
made  in  a  prompt  and  satisfactory  way. 

Now,  what  were  these  men  after  that  day?  Weich- 
mann did  not  know  what  it  meant  until  Samuel  Arnold's 
confession  was  published  in  1869  and  Surratt's  lecture 
delivered  in  December,  1870.  Then,  for  the  first  time, 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  173 

it  became  publicly  known  that  these  men  had  started  out 
that  day  to  capture  Mr.  Lincoln  at  the  Soldiers'  Home. 
A  play  had  been  arranged  at  the  above  place,  called 
"  Still  Waters  Run  Deep,"  and  Mr.  Lester  Wallack,  E.  L. 
Davenport,  and  John  Matthews  had  been  secured  as 
players.  At  the  last  moment,  however,  the  President  did 
not  come,  but  sent  in  his  stead  Mr.  Chase,  his  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  and  then  Sur'ratt  tells  us  in  his  lecture 
that  they  were  much  disappointed  because  the  President 
had  not  come.  "They  did  not  want  Mr.  Chase;  they 
wanted  a  bigger  chase." 

The  President  was  to  have  been  seized  at  the  end  of 
the  play  while  on  his  way  home.  Surratt,  because  of  his 
familiarity  with  the  roads,  was  to  jump  on  the  box,  seize 
the  reins,  and  do  the  driving  by  way  of  Oldfield  and 
Benning's  bridge,  and  they  were  to  go  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible through  lower  Maryland,  and  before  the  evening  of 
the  same  day  they  calculated  to  deliver  Mr.  Lincoln  in- 
side the  Confederate  lines;  but  the  scheme,  as  has  been 
seen,  resulted  in  a  big  fiasco,  all  because  the  "  bigger 
chase  "  had  not  come. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  abduction  plot,  and  there  is 
no  evidence  in  existence  to  show  that  after  that  date  it 
was  ever  renewed  or  attempted  again.  Surratt  says  this 
in  his  lecture,  and  Samuel  Arnold  confirms  it  in  his  con- 
fession. He  and  O'Laughlin  went  now  to  Baltimore. 
On  the  29th  of  March  Arnold  secured  a  position  in  the 
store  of  John  W.  Wharton,  a  sutler  at  Fortress  Monroe, 
and  was  there  when  the  assassination  took  place.  Booth, 
about  April  I,  sold  the  horses  and  buggy  he  had  pro- 
vided for  capturing  the  President  at  the  theater. 

Henceforth  another  plan  was  in  Booth's  mind,  which, 
as  results  proved,  was  eminently  successful — the  killing 
of  Lincoln. 


174         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

On  the  1 8th  of  March  Booth  played  at  Ford's  Theater, 
for  the  benefit  of  his  friend  John  McCullough,  in  the-  play 
of  the  "  Apostate,"  he  himself  assuming  the  character 
of  Pescara,  the  infamous  duke  of  Alba.  He  had  given 
a  number  of  tickets  to  Surratt,  who  invited  Mr.  Holo- 
han  and  his  friend  Weichmann.  At  the  play  were  also 
seen  Herold  and  Atzerodt.  When  the  play  was  over 
Weichmann  left  the  theater  with  Surratt  and  Holohan, 
but  Surratt,  looking  around  and  finding  that  Atzerodt 
and  Herold  were  not  coming,  sent  Weichmann  to  tell 
them  to  hurry  up  and  come  to  Mr.  Kloman's  saloon  on 
Seventh  Street  to  partake  of  an  oyster  supper.  When 
Weichmann  went  into  the  restaurant  next  the  theater  he 
saw  Booth  in  close  conversation  with  Herold  and  At- 
zerodt. Booth  left  his  companions  and  asked  Weich- 
mann to  take  a  drink  with  him,  who  did  so,  and  partook 
of  a  glass  of  ale. 

After  this  Herold  and  Atzerodt  left  the  restaurant  and 
joined  the  rest  of  the  company  at  Kloman's. 

On  the  23d  of  the  month  Weichmann  was  surprised 
to  see  Mrs.  Holohan  come  to  the  office  where  he  was 
employed.  She  had  for  him  a  telegram,  which  she 
handed  him.  Weichmann  opened  it:  It  read  as  follows: 

NEW  YORK,  March  23,  1865. 

WICKMAN,  Esq.,  No.  541  H  Street,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Tell  John  telegraph  number  and  street  at  once. 

(Signed)    J.  BOOTH. 

Weichmann  thought  strange  of  this;  he  could  not  un- 
derstand why  Booth  should  address  him  a  telegram,  and 
laughingly  showed  it  to  the  other  clerks.  The  same 
afternoon,  however,  after  his  work,  on  his  way  home, 
he  met  Surratt  at  the  corner  of  Seventh  and  F  streets. 
He  handed  him  the  message,  asking  him  why  it  was  ad- 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  175 

dressed  as  it  was,  and  what  street  and  number  were 
meant.  Surratt  answered,  "  Don't  be  so  damned  inquisi- 
tive." Then  he  stepped  to  the  window  of  the  delivery 
office,  and  inquired  for  a  letter  for  "  James  Sturdy,"  and 
a  letter  bearing  that  address  was  given  him.  It  was  from 
New  York,  and  was  written  in  a  very  bad  hand.  It  was 
signed  "  Wood  " — the  same  man  who  had  been  at  Mrs. 
Surratt's  house  under  that  name,  viz.,  Payne. 

That  evening  after  dinner  Weichmann  went  out  with 
Surratt  at  his  invitation.  They  first  called  at  a  Catholic 
school  at  the  corner  of  Tenth  and  G  streets,  where  a 
young  lady  by  the  name  of  Anna  Ward  was  employed  as 
a  teacher,  whom  Surratt  saw  and  with  whom  he  had  some 
conversation.  What  the  nature  of  it  was,  Weichmann 
did  not  know.  From  here  Surratt  went  to  the  Herndon 
House  at  the  corner  of  Ninth  and  F  streets  and  called 
for  a  Mrs.  Murray,  with  whom  he  desired  to  converse 
alone;  but  Mrs.  Murray  was  slightly  deaf,  and  did  not 
understand  him.  Then  he  spoke  out  more  boldly,  and 
said:  "  Did  not  Miss  Anna  Ward  engage  a  room  for  a 
sick  man  who  was  to  have  his  meals  sent  up  to  him,  and 
who  would  be  here  Monday,  March  27?  "  Mrs.  Murray 
acknowledged  this  to  be  so.  The  "  sick  "  man  arrived 
and  took  possession  of  the  room  on  the  date  named.  This 
was  Payne,  as  subsequent  developments  showed,  for 
Weichmann,  happening  to  meet  Atzerodt  one  day  on  the 
street,  asked  him  if  it  was  Payne  who  was  staying  at  the 
Herndon  House,  and  Atzerodt  said  it  was. 

Mrs.  Surratt  knew  that  it  was  Payne,  for  Weichmann 
told  her  what  Atzerodt  had  said  to  him,  and  she  was 
very  angry  about  it.  During  the  week  ending  April  8, 
while  on  her  way  from  St.  Patrick's  Church,  she  called 
on  Payne  at  the  Herndon  House,  and  had  an  interview 
with  him,  the  testimony  to  this  effect  being  given  by 


ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Miss  Fitzpatrick  and  Weichmann  at  the  trial  of  Surratt, 
in  1867. 

Weichmann  has  always  felt  that  Booth's  telegram  was 
sent  direct  to  him  for  the  purpose  of  compromising  him. 
He  was  always  at  a  loss  to  know  why  it  should  have  been 
sent  to  him  at  all.  He  had  no  intimacy  whatever  with 
Booth,  and  never  wrote  to  him  or  visited  him  at  his 
rooms  except  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Surratt. 

On  Saturday  morning,  March  25,  just  as  Weichmann 
came  down  for  his  breakfast,  on  looking  out  of  his  win- 
dow he  was  surprised  to  see  Surratt,  his  mother,  and 
Mrs.  Slater,  all  in  a  carriage  with  a  pair  of  white  horses 
attached.  Mrs.  Slater  had  probably  been  in  the  house 
the  previous  night,  but  not  to  his  knowledge. 

They  drove  away;  not  a  word  was  said  to  him,  Surratt 
not  having  politeness  enough  to  say  good-by.  When 
Mrs.  Surratt  returned  home  alone  that  evening,  Weich- 
mann asked  her  what  had  become  of  her  son,  and  she 
said,  "  He  has  gone  to  Richmond  to  sec*ure  a  clerkship." 
She  asked  Weichmann  to  go  to  Brooke  Stabler  and  say 
to  him  that  the  white  horses  and  buggy  would  not  be  re- 
turned until  the  following  Sunday.  Weichmann  made 
some  objection  to  this.  Said  she,  "  Oh,  Brooke  con- 
siders John,  Herold,  and  Atzerodt  a  party  of  young 
sports,  and  I  want  him  to  think  them  so." 

On  Sunday,  March  26,  as  he  was  about  to  leave  the 
house  for  church,  Mrs.  Surratt  requested  Weichmann  to 
go  to  the  National  Hotel  and  ask  Mr.  Booth  to  call  on 
her  in  the  afternoon.  On  his  way  down  Sixth  Street 
Weichmann  met  Atzerodt,  who  was  also  going  to  see 
Booth.  When  they  arrived  at  the  hotel  they  found  Booth 
at  the  front  door.  Weichmann  communicated  his  mes- 
sage, stating  that  Mrs.  Surratt  desired  to  see  him  in  the 
afternoon.  Booth  went  to  her  house,  and  she  had 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  177 

an  interview  with  him  near  the  head  of  the  kitchen 
stairs. 

On  Sunday,  April  2,  Mrs.  Surratt  again  requested  Mr. 
Weichmann  to  go  to  the  National  Hotel  and  say  that 
she  wanted  to  see  Booth,  and  if  he  was  not  there  to  call 
on  Atzerodt  and  tell  him  to  come  around  to  the  house. 

Booth  was  not  in  the  city  at  that  time,  and  Weich- 
mann went  around  to  the  Pennsylvania  House,  where 
he  found  Atzerodt  standing  in  front  of  the  hotel  and 
holding  two  horses  by  the  bridles.  Weichmann  asked 
him,  "  Whose  horses  are  those?  "  "  One,"  he  said,  "  is 
mine  and  the  other  is  Booth's."  "  I  thought  they  were 
John  Surratt's  horses."  "  No,"  he  responded,  "  they  are 
mine."  Weichmann  had  once  seen  a  bill  for  livery  in 
Surratt's  name,  and  Mrs.  Surratt  said  they  were  John's 
horses.  Atzerodt  asked  Weichmann  to  mount  one  of 
them,  and  ride  to  church.  This  he  did. 

The  same  afternoon  Mr.  Jenkins,  Mrs.  Surratt's 
brother,  who  was  at  the  house,  desired  to  go  home,  and 
she  again  sent  Weichmann  around  to  Atzerodt  to  see 
if  he  could  borrow  one  of  John's  horses.  Atzerodt,  how- 
ever, refused,  saying  he  would  have  to  see  Mr.  Payne 
about  it.  "What  has  Payne  to  do  with  it?"  asked 
Weichmann.  "'  A  heap,"  answered  Atzerodt.  Then  Jen- 
kins, Atzerodt,  and  Weichmann  went  around  to  Payne's 
boarding  place.  Atzerodt  went  in,  but  soon  returned 
with  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  Payne.  This  nettled  Mrs. 
Surratt,  who  said  she  thought  very  mean  of  Atzerodt 
for  this,  for  she  had  loaned  him  the  last  five  dollars  out 
of  her  pocket. 

On  the  3d  of  April  the  fall  of  Richmond  was  cele- 
brated in  Washington.  Weichmann  was  sitting  in  the 
parlor  in  the  afternoon,  about  five  o'clock,  worn  out  with 
the  rejoicing  and  excitement  of  the  occasion.  Suddenly 


178         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

the  door  opened,  and  in  walked  John  Surratt.  "  Why, 
Surratt,"  said  Weichmann,  "  I  thought  you  had  gone 
to  Richmond.  Don't  you  know  that  Richmond  has  been 
evacuated?"  "No,  it  has  not,"  said  Surratt;  "I  saw 
Davis  and  Benjamin  in  Richmond,  and  they  told  me  it 
would  not  be  evacuated." 

Then  Surratt  went  upstairs,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
Weichmann  followed  him.  Surratt  changed  his  under- 
clothing; his  outer  clothes  were  new.  He  desired  Weich- 
mann to  change  some  money  for  him,  and  showed  him 
some  twenty-dollar  gold  pieces  and  some  Treasury  notes. 
Weichmann  could  not  make  the  change,  and  then  Sur- 
ratt called  on  Mr.  Holohan,  who  accommodated  him. 

The  same  evening  Surratt  invited  Weichmann  down 
to  Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  eat  some  oysters  with  him. 
This  was  done,  and  at  about  eight  o'clock  Surratt  left 
him,  saying  he  would  leave  town  for  Montreal  the  follow- 
ing morning.  Surratt  stayed  all  that  night  at  the  Na- 
tional Hotel.  That  was  the  last  time  Weichmann  ever 
spoke  to  him.  He  did  not  lay  eyes  on  Surratt  again 
until  he  appeared  as  a  witness  against  him  at  his  trial  in 
1867. 

On  Monday  evening,  April  10,  Weichmann  was  again 
in  Mrs.  Surratt's  parlor.  Booth  and  Miss  Anna  Ward 
were  also  there.  Suddenly  Booth  went  across  to  Miss 
Ward  and  said,  "  Let  me  see  the  address  of  that  lady 
again."  Miss  Ward  then  handed  him  a  letter,  which  he 
read  and  returned.  After  he  was  gone  Annie  Surratt 
read  the  letter  to  Weichmann,  saying,  "  It  was  too  bad 
to  practice  such  deception  on  him."  The  letter  proved 
to  be  from  her  brother,  but  Weichmann  did  not  remem- 
ber its  contents. 

The  same  evening  Mrs.  Surratt  told  him  that  it  was 
necessary  for  her  to  go  into  the  country  the  following 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  179 

day  to  see  a  Mr.  John  Nothey  in  reference  to  the 
money  due  on  some  land  which  he  had  purchased  from 
her  husband,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  please  drive 
her  down.  This  he  consented  to  do.  He  then  went  and 
asked  the  permission  of  his  superior  officers  to  be  absent 
for  the  day.  On  the  following  morning,  April  n,  Mrs. 
Surratt  requested  him  to  go  to  Mr.  Booth  at  the  Na- 
tional Hotel  and  ask  him  for  the  loan  of  his  horse  and 
buggy.  When  Weichmann  saw  Booth  he  was  informed 
by  him  that  he  had  sold  his  horse  and  buggy,  but  he 
gave  him  ten  dollars  to  hire  a  team  for  her.  This  Weich- 
mann did.  On  the  way  to  Surrattsville,  near  Union- 
town,  they  happened  to  meet  John  M.  Lloyd,  who  was 
coming  to  the  city.  Mrs.  Surratt  called  him  to  her,  and 
when  he  came  she  had  a  whispered  conversation  with 
him  which  Weichmann  did  not  hear.  Lloyd  says  she 
told  him  to  get  the  "shooting-irons"  out  ready;  that 
they  would  be  wanted  soon,  and  that  she  spoke  in  such 
a  way  that  no  one  else  would  understand. 

She  then  went  to  Surrattsville,  where  she  met  Mr. 
Nothey  and  had  an  interview  with  him  of  a  couple  hours' 
duration  in  the  presence  of  a  Mr.  Bennett  Gwynn,  and 
some  kind  of  arrangement  was  made  in  reference  to  pay- 
ing the  debt.  She  then  returned  home,  which  she 
reached  at  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

On  the  morning  of  the  I4th  of  April  (Good  Friday) 
Weichmann,  after  taking  his  breakfast,  went  to  St. 
Patrick's  Church  and  assisted  at  the  early  service 
there.  When  that  was  over  he  went  to  his  desk 
and  was  there  until  ten  or  half-past  ten  o'clock.  At 
that  time  a  circular  letter  was  read  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  Mr.  Stanton,  to  the  effect  that  all  his 
employees  whose  churches  had  divine  service  that 
day  were  relieved  from  duty  for  the  remainder  of  the 


180         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

day.  Weichmann  took  advantage  of  the  order  and 
went  to  hear  mass  at  St.  Matthew's  Church,  where  Dr. 
White,  his  old  employer,  officiated,  preaching  the  ser- 
mon. At  the  end  of  the  service,  about  half-past  twelve, 
he  returned  to  his  boarding-house,  meeting  several 
friends  on  the  way.  When  he  reached  the  place  he  took 
lunch  with  the  family,  and  when  that  was  over  went  to 
his  room,  expecting  to  remain  there  the  rest  of  the  after- 
noon, and  without  any  thought  at  all  of  going  anywhere. 

At  about  two  o'clock  he  heard  a  rap  at  his  room  door, 
and  on  opening  it  saw  standing  there  Mrs.  Surratt  with 
a  letter  in  her  hand.  Said  she,  "  Mr.  Weichmann,  I  have 
here  a  letter  from  Mr.  Calvert,  and  I  find  it  necessary 
to  go  into  the  country  again  to  see  Mr.  John  K.  Nothey. 
Here  are  ten  dollars.  Would  you  mind  hiring  a  buggy 
for  me,  and  driving  me  down."  Certainly  Weichmann 
did  not  mind.  He  was  glad,  of  the  chance,  as  it  was 
his  second  opportunity  in  life  to  handle  a  horse  and  a 
pair  of  reins.  He  did  not  mistrust  this  woman  for  a 
single  instant.  Putting  on  his  hat  he  went  downstairs, 
and,  just  as  he  opened  the  front  door,  there  stood  John 
Wilkes  Booth  with  his  hand  on  the  front  doorbell  ready 
to  pull  it !  Booth  extended  his  hand,  exchanged  pleasant 
greetings,  and  then  went  into  the  parlor. 

Weichmann  hired  the  horse  and  buggy,  paying  six 
dollars  for  their  use,  returning  the  change  to  Mrs.  Sur- 
ratt. At  the  stables  he  saw  Atzerodt.  Weichmann 
asked  him  what  he  was  doing  there,  and  he  said  that  he 
was  going  to  take  a  ride  into  the  country,  and  that  he 
was  crying  to  get  a  horse  for  Payne. 

Returning  to  the  house,  Weichmann  left  the  horse  and 
buggy  in  front  of  the  door,  and  went  to  his  room  for 
some  articles  of  clothing.  As  he  descended  and  walked 
past  the  parlor,  he  saw  Booth  and  Mrs.  Surratt  in  close 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  l8l 

conversation.  Mrs.  Surratt  was  facing  the  entry,  and 
Booth  had  his  back  to  it.  In  a  short  time  Booth  came 
down  the  front  steps,  and,  seeing  Weichmann  at  the  curb, 
waved  his  hand  to  him  in  token  of  adieu.  That  was  the 
last  Weichmann  saw  of  him  alive  or  dead. 

Very  soon  Mrs.  Surratt  also  came  down  the  front 
steps,  and  was  in  the  act  of  getting  in  the  buggy  when 
she  said:  "Stop!  let  me  get  those  things  of  Booth's." 
She  went  into  the  house,  and  in  a  short  time  returned 
with  two  packages  in  her  hand,  one  about  six  inches  in 
diameter,  done  up  in  brown  paper,  and  the  other  evidently 
some  business  papers.  Weichmann  never  saw  the  con- 
tents of  either  paper.  He  was  under  the  impression  that 
the  package  in  brown  paper  contained  some  articles  of 
glass  or  china  which  she  was  taking  to  an  old  colored 
woman  in  the  country,  of  whom  she  was  very  fond.  She 
said  it  was  glass,  but  not  a  glass.  The  contents  of  that 
package  turned  out  to  be  John  Wilkes  Booth's  field- 
glass. 

When  about  halfway  on  the  road  some  soldiers  were 
seen  to  the  left,  their  horses  nibbling  the  grass,  and  the 
soldiers  lying  down,  taking  their  ease.  Mrs.  Surratt 
stopped  the  buggy,  and  calling  an  old  man  to  her,  evi- 
dently a  farmer,  wanted  to  know  what  those  soldiers  were 
doing  there.  He  said  they  were  pickets  to  guard  the 
road.  She  then  wanted  to  know  if  they  remained  there 
all  night.  The  old  man  replied  that  they  were  generally 
called  in  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  "  I  am  glad  to 
know  that,"  said  she,  and  drove  on. 

When  they  arrived  at  Surrattsville,  about  four  o'clock, 
Mrs.  Surratt  got  out  of  the  buggy,  and  Weichmann  re- 
mained in  it,  driving  around  the  neighboring  roads  of 
the  country  for  a  little  pleasure.  When  he  returned, 
Mrs.  Surratt  rapped  at  the  parlor  window  and  informed 


1 82         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

him  Mr.  Nothey  was  not  there.  This  is  a  most  vital 
point.  She  had  made  no  arrangements  to  meet  Nothey 
at  all;  and  he  did  not  know  she  was  there.  It  was  all  a 
blind  to  deceive  Weichmann  as  to  the  real  nature  of  her 
business.  She  thereupon  dictated  the  following  letter  to 
Nothey,  which  Weichmann  wrote  at  her  request: 

SURRATTSVILLE,  MD.,  April  14,  1865. 

MR.  JOHN  NOTHEY. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  this  day  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Calvert 
intimating  that  either  you  or  your  friends  have  reported  to  him 
that  I  am  not  willing  to  settle  with  you  for  the  land. 

You  know  that  I  am  ready,  and  have  been  waiting  for  these 
last  two  years;  and  now,  if  you  do  not  come  within  the  next 
ten  days,  I  will  settle  with  Mr.  Calvert  and  bring  suit  against 
you  immediately. 

Mr.  Calvert  will  give  you  a  deed  on  receiving  payment. 

M.    E.   SURRATT, 

Administratrix  of  John  H.  Surratt. 

That  letter  was  one  of  the  chief  grounds  of  defense  in 
Mrs.  Surratt's  case.  On  it  she  relied  mainly  to  prove 
that  her  visit  to  the  country  on  that  day  was  one  of  strict 
business;  but  the  scheme  and  pretense  failed.  The  letter 
could  have  been  written  in  her  own  home,  and  mailed 
from  there  for  a  three-cent  stamp.  It  was  not  necessary 
to  go  to  the  country  at  all  at  that  time  for  the  alleged 
purpose. 

She  was  anxious  to  be  home  at  nine  o'clock,  saying 
she  had  made  an  engagement  with  a  gentleman  to  meet 
her  at  that  hour.  Weichmann  asked  her  if  it  was  Booth. 
She  made  no  reply,  yes  or  no.  On  the  return  that  even- 
ing, Weichmann  asked  her  some  questions  about  Booth, 
saying  he  appeared  to  be  without  employment,  and  ask- 
ing her  when  he  was  going  to  act  again.  "  Booth  is 
done  acting,"  she  replied,  "  and  is  going  to  New  York 
very  soon,  never  to  return,"  Then  turning  around  and 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  183 

looking  Mr.  Weichmann  in  the  face,  she  continued: 
"  Yes,  and  Booth  is  crazy  on  one  subject,  and  the  next 
time  I  see  him  I  am  going  to  give  him  a  good  scolding." 

When  about  a  mile  from  the  city,  and  having  from  the 
top  of  a  hill  caught  a  view  of  Washington,  swimming 
in  a  flood  of  light,  she  said,  "  I  am  afraid  all  this  rejoicing 
will  be  turned  into  mourning  and  all  this  glory  into  sad- 
ness." Weichmann  asked  her  what  she  meant,  and  she 
replied  that  "  after  sunshine  there  was  always  a  storm, 
and  that  the  people  were  too  proud  and  licentious,  and 
that  God  would  punish  them." 

Just  as  the  carriage  drove  from  New  Jersey  Avenue 
past  the  Capitol  into  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  sounds  of 
music  were  heard  in  the  distance,  and  then  a  procession 
of  Arsenal  employees  was  seen  passing  up  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  in  the  direction  of  the  White  House. 

Mrs.  Surratt  reached  home  at  about  half-past  eight, 
and  then  the  horse  and  buggy  were  returned  to  Howard's 
stable. 

At  tea  that  evening  Mrs.  Surratt  showed  Weichmann 
a  letter  she  said  she  had  received  from  her  son  John.  It 
had  been  brought  to  the  house  by  Miss  Anna  Ward,  and 
not  by  the  letter  carrier.  It  was  dated  St.  Lawrence  Hall, 
Canada,  April  12,  1865.  In  it  he  said  he  was  much 
pleased  with  the  city  of  Montreal  and  with  the  French 
Cathedral;  that  he  had  bought  a  French  pea-jacket,  for 
which  he  had  paid  ten  dollars  in  silver;  that  board  was 
too  high  at  the  hotel,  $2.50  per  day  in  gold,  and  that  he 
would  probably  go  to  some  private  boarding-house,  or 
soon  go  to  Toronto. 

That  letter  was  also  probably  a  deception.  It  was 
never  seen  after  that. 

While  yet  at  supper  footsteps  were  heard  coming  up 
the  front  steps  on  the  outside,  and  then  the  front  door- 


1 84         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

bell  was  heard  to  ring.  There  was  no  servant  in  the  house 
at  the  time,  and  Weichmann  said  to  Mrs.  Surratt  that  he 
would  answer  the  bell,  as  she  must  be  very  tired  after 
her  long  drive.  She,  however,  said  "  No,"  and  went  to 
answer  it  herself.  The  door  was  opened,  and  the  foot- 
steps were  heard  to  enter  the  front  parlor.  The  gentle- 
man whom  she  had  expected  at  nine  o'clock  had  ar- 
rived. He  remained  several  minutes,  and  then  departed. 

As  soon  as  Weichmann  had  finished  his  supper  he 
went  to  the  parlor.  In  a  short  time  he  noticed  that  Mrs. 
Surratt's  cheerfulness  had  left  her.  Once  she  asked  him 
which  way  the  torchlight  procession  was  going  that  they 
had  seen  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  Weichmann  re- 
marked that  it  was  a  procession  of  Arsenal  employees 
who  were  going  to  serenade  the  President.  She  said  she 
would  like  to  know,  as  she  was  very  much  interested  in 
it.  She  had  a  pair  of  prayer  beads  in  her  hands,  and  once 
she  asked  him  to  pray  for  her  intentions.  He  answered 
her  by  saying  he  did  not  know  what  her  intentions  were. 
She  then  asked  him  to  pray  for  them,  anyhow. 

Her  nervousness  finally  increased  so  much  that  she  in 
a  mariner  hurried  the  young  ladies,  Annie  Surratt,  Miss 
Olivia  Jenkins,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Surratt  then  on  a 
visit,  Miss  Fitzpatrick,  and  himself  to  their  respective 
rooms. 

All  dreamless  of  the  terrible  tragedy  which  was  about 
to  be  enacted  at  Ford's  Theater,  Weichmann  retired  for 
the  night  at  about  a  quarter  of  ten  o'clock,  without  the 
slightest  suspicion  of  any  wrong.  He  did  not  even  know 
of  the  President's  visit  to  the  theater,  and  was  sound 
asleep  .when  the  latter  was  shot. 

The  next  morning,  April  15,  he,  being  slightly  in- 
disposed, had  gone  to  the  yard,  returned  to  his  room,  and 
was  hardly  in  bed  again  when  the  front  doorbell  was 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  185 

pulled  very  violently.  Hastily  drawing  on  a  pair  of 
trousers,  for  he  was  the  only  man  in  the  house,  he 
ran  downstairs  and  rapped  on  the  inside  of  the  front 
door.  "Who's  there?"  he  asked.  "Detectives,"  was 
the  reply,  "  come  to  search  the  house  for  John  Wilkes 
Booth  and  John  H.  Surratt."  "  Neither  of  them  are 
here,"  said  Weichmann.  "  Let  us  in,  anyhow;  we  wish 
to  search  the  house,"  cried  the  detectives.  "Before  do- 
ing so,  gentlemen,  I  will  have  to  get  the  permission  of 
the  mistress  of  the  house."  Then  Weichmann  stepped  to 
Mrs.  Surratt's  door,  which  was  on  the  same  floor  and  in 
the  rear  of  the  parlor,  rapped  at  it,  and  said,  "  Here,  Airs. 
Surratt,  are  some  detectives  who  have  come  to  search 
the  house  for  John  Wilkes  Booth  and  your  son."  "  For 
God's  sake!  "  said  she,  "  let  them  come  in;  I  expected  the 
house  to  be  searched." 

The  detectives  now  entered  the  house  and  searched 
every  nook  and  corner  of  it,  going  into  the  third  story 
where  the  young  ladies  were  sleeping,  looking  into  the 
beds,  under  them,  into  the  closets — everywhere. 

Finally  they  came  into  Weichmann's  room.  "  Gen- 
tlemen," said  he,  "  what  do  you  mean  by  searching  this 
house  so  early  in  the  morning? "  Then  replied  John 
Clarvoe,  one  of  the  men :  "  Do  you  mean  to  tell  us 
that  you  don't  know  what  happened  last  night?" 
Weichmann  assured  him  he  did  not.  "  Then,"  said 
Clarvoe,  at  the  same  time  bringing  forth  a  piece  of  black 
cravat;  "  I  will  tell  you.  Do  you  see  the  blood  on  that?  " 
"  Yes,"  rejoined  the  young  man.  "  Well,"  said  Clarvoe, 
"  that  is  Lincoln's  blood.  John  Wilkes  Booth  has  mur- 
dered the  President,  and  your  friend,  John  H.  Surratt, 
the  Secretary  of  State." 

Here  was  a  tremendous  revelation  for  this  man,  and 
it  is  a  wonder  that  he  did  not  fall  to  the  floor  on  the  re- 


1 86         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

ception  of  such  horrible  news.  His  feelings  may  be 
better  imagined  than  described.  When  he  had  some- 
what recovered  his  equanimity,  he  told  the  detectives 
that  they  were  probably  mistaken  as  to  Surratt.  "  He 
is  not  in  the  city,"  said  he;  "  I  saw  a  letter  from  him  last 
night,  dated  St.  Lawrence  Hall,  Canada,  April  12. 
Gentlemen,  Surratt  is  in  Canada." 

Weichmann  then  went  with  the  detectives  downstairs 
into  the  parlor.  Mrs.  Surratt  was  just  coming  out  of 
her  room.  "  What  do  you  think,"  said  he  to  Mrs.  Sur- 
ratt; "John  Wilkes  Booth  has  murdered  the  President!  " 
He  kept  back  the  name  of  her  son  out  of  respect  to  her 
feelings.  "  My  God,  Mr.  Weichmann !  you  don't  tell  me 
so,"  was  her  answer. 

The  officers  now  questioned  her  as  to  the  whereabouts 
of  her  son.  She  stated  she  had  received  a  letter  from 
him  the  last  evening,  and  that  he  was  in  Canada.  James 
McDevitt,  the  leader  of  the  party,  pressed  her  very 
strongly  as  to  the  truth  of  this,  and  asked  her  for  the 
letter,  but  she  made  no  effort  to  find  it.  It  never  was 
found  and  produced  in  open  court,  as  it  should  have  been. 
Had  that  been  done,  it  would  have  settled  the  fact  as  to 
Surratt's  whereabouts  on  the  evening  of  April  14  beyond 
controversy. 

Weichmann  told  the  detectives  that  he  would  report 
at  their  headquarters  on  Tenth  Street  in  the  morning  at 
eight  o'clock,  and  would  assist  them  to  the  full  extent 
of  his  ability  in  making  an  investigation.  With  this  as- 
surance the  detectives  left  the  house. 

Weichmann  returned  to  the  parlor  and  said  to  those 
present  that  he  was  sorry  that  these  men  had  come  to 
the  house  so  soon  after  the  murder,  and  that,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  continued  visits  of  Booth  to  the  house, 
the  Government  would  make  a  strenuous  investigation, 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  187 

and  that  everybody  living  in  the  house  would  be  held 
to  accountability. 

Annie  Surratt  on  hearing  this  said,  "  Oh,  ma,  Mr. 
Weichmann  is  right.  Just  think  of  that  man  Booth  hav- 
ing been  here  an  hour  before  the  murder!  "  Thus  the 
fact  came  to  the  surface  that  it  was  Booth  who  came  up 
the  front  stairs  while  the  supper  was  being  served. 

"  Annie,  come  what  will,"  Mrs.  Surratt  replied,  "  I  am 
resigned.  I  think  that  John  Wilkes  Booth  was  only  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty  to  punish  this 
proud  and  licentious  people." 

Young  Weichmann  returned  to  his  room,  where  only 
God  witnessed  the  agony  he  suffered.  About  six  o'clock 
he  went  out  and  purchased  a  paper — the  Chronicle.  He 
read  a  full  account,  and  saw  that  it  was  indeed  Booth 
who  murdered  the  President.  But  what  of  the  man  who 
assaulted  the  Secretary  of  State?  Weichmann  read  the 
description  of  him,  and  was  convinced  that  it  did  not 
answer  that-  of  Surratt,  and  thus  a  big  load  was  lifted 
from  his  heart.  He  now  returned  to  his  boarding-house 
for  his  breakfast. 

Breakfast  over,  Weichmann  left  the  house  along  with 
John  T.  Holohan,  and  went  to  police  headquarters  on 
Tenth  Street  near  E.  Here  for  the  first  time  he  met 
Major  A.  C.  Richards,  the  Superintendent  of  Police  in 
those  days  for  the  city  of  Washington.  He  remained  all 
day  with  the  detectives,  who  made  a  visit  to  Maryland, 
going  through  the  counties  of  Prince  George  and  Charles, 
and  secured  little  information  of  any  account.  That 
night  he  slept  on  the  floor  of  the  station  house.  The 
next  day  the  party  went  to  Baltimore,  met  Marshal 
McPhail,  and  secured  from  him  a  few  items  of  interest, 
and  then  returned  to  Washington. 

It  was  now  determined  to  make  a  visit  to  Canada  as 


1 88         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

speedily  as  possible  in  pursuit  of  Surratt,  and  accordingly 
the  necessary  papers  were  procured  from  the  War  De- 
partment, as  follows: 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  WASHINGTON, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  16,  1865. 
SPECIAL  ORDERS  No.  68. — Extract. 

Special  Officers  James  A.  McDevitt,  George  Holohan,  and 
Louis  J.  Weichmann  are  hereby  ordered  to  New  York  on  impor- 
tant Government  business,  and,  after  executing  their  private 
orders,  to  return  to  this  city  and  report  at  these  headquarters. 
The  Quartermaster's  Department  will  furnish  the  necessary 
transportation. 
By  command  of  Major-General  Augur. 

T.    INGRAHAM, 
Colonel  and  Provost-Marshal-General,  Defenses 

North  of  the  Potomac. 
Official  : 

G.  B.  RUSSEL, 

Captain  and  Asst.  Prov.-Mar.-Gen'l., 

Defenses  North  of  the  Potomac. 

McDevitt  and  his  little  party  reached  Montreal  on  the 
2Oth  of  April,  and  went  to  St.  James  Hotel  for  accom- 
modation. They  soon  ascertained  from  the  register  of 
St.  Lawrence  Hall  that  Surratt  had  arrived  there  on  the 
6th  of  April,  left  on  the  I2th,  and  returned  on  the  i8th, 
again  leaving  a  few  hours  later  on  the  same  day.  They 
also  ascertained  that  he  was  seen  one  day  to  leave  the 
house  of  one  Porterfield,  an  agent  for  the  Confederacy 
then  residing  in  Montreal,  in  company  with  another  man, 
both  dressed  alike,  each  one  taking  a  separate  carriage 
and  driving  in  opposite  directions.  After  this  all  trace  of 
Surratt  was  lost  by  the  Government  until  his  identifica- 
tion by  Ste.  Marie  while  serving  as  a  zouave  in  the  Papal 
army  in  Italy,  in  the  early  part  of  1866. 

Weichmann  now  returned  to  the  United  States  with 
Holohan  and  McDevitt.  They  reported  at  the  War  De- 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  189 

partment  to  General  Henry  L.  Burnett,  on  the  after- 
noon of  April  29,  making  such  statements  as  they  were 
in  possession  of  at  that  time,  and  were  then  discharged 
by  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  During  the  night  of 
April  29  Weichmann  slept  in  a  boarding-house  about 
half  a  square  from  the  War  Department.  In  the  morning 
he  ate  his  breakfast  with  young  Ulysses  Grant,  who  sat 
at  the  same  table  at  his  right  hand.  When  the  meal  was 
concluded  he  left  the  house  with  Mr.  Gilbert  Raynor,  an 
employee  of  the  office  of  the  Commissary-General  of 
Prisoners,  and  took  a  stroll  along  Pennsylvania  Avenue. 
When  in  front  of  the  War  Department  General  Burnett, 
the  officer  to  whom  he  had  made  his  statements  the 
previous  afternoon,  came  across  the  street.  Weichmann 
introduced  his  friend  Raynor  to  the  General,  who  po- 
litely acknowledged  it  and  shook  Mr.  Raynor  warmly 
by  the  hand.  Then  Burnett  grasped  Weichmann  by 
the  arm,  for  he  was  very  glad  to  see  him,  and  begged 
his  companion  to  excuse  him. 

Burnett  now  told  Weichmann  that  the  Secretary  of 
War  wanted  to  see  him,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  min- 
utes he  was  ushered  into  the  presence  of  that  great  and 
stern  man.  General  Burnett  was  present  and  made  notes 
of  all  that  was  said.  Stanton  wanted  to  know  how  he 
had  become  acquainted  with  the  Surratt  family,  and  had 
made  his  home  with  them.  Weichmann  then  told  him 
that  it  was  due  to  college  acquaintance  extending  as  far 
back  as  1859,  and  that  he  did  not  suspect  either  Mrs. 
Surratt  or  her  son  of  disloyalty  when  he  went  there  to 
board,  and  that  he  had  agreed  to  pay  them  thirty-five 
dollars  for  his  accommodation.  Then  the  Secretary  de- 
sired to  know  how  and  when  he  had  become  acquainted 
with  Booth.  Weichmann  then  related  the  story  of  the 
introduction  by  Dr.  Mudd,  as  related  in  these  pages. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Then  Stanton  said  that  was,  indeed,  very  important,  and 
bade  Burnett  be  sure  to  make  a  note  of  it.  Then  he 
asked  a  number  of  questions,  subjecting  the  young  man 
to  an  interview  of  about  two  hours.  At  its  conclusion 
Mr.  Stanton  informed  him  that  he  would  have  to  hold 
him  in  custody  until  all  the  circumstances  attending  the 
assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  inquired  into. 
Weichmann  looked  Stanton  squarely  in  the  eye  and  said : 
"  All  right,  Mr.  Stanton;  but  by  the  time  this  investiga- 
tion is  closed,  you  will  find  that  I  have  done  my  whole 
duty  to  the  Government."  "  I  hope  so,"  said  Stanton. 
This  was  the  first  and  only  time  any  restraint  was  put 
on  Weichmann.  Before  leaving  the  Secretary  he  made 
a  plea  in  Mrs.  Surratt's  behalf,  but  the  Secretary  replied 
that  the  law  must  take  its  course. 

Weichmann  was  now  committed  to  the  care  of  Gen- 
eral Lafayette  Baker,  and  by  him  was  taken  in  the  street 
cars  to  the  Carroll  prison. 

During  the  week  which  intervened  before  the  great 
conspiracy  trial  began,  Mr.  Weichmann  met  bravely 
every  test  imposed  upon  him,  and  answered  truthfully 
every  question  asked  him.  His  letters  which  he  had  kept 
for  seven  years  had  been  seized  at  the  Surratt  house, 
when  the  arresting  party  had  gone  there,  and  every  one 
of  them  was  read  by  the  War  Department  officials. 
Pending  this  investigation  he  was  discharged  from  his 
position  which  he  held  for  a  year  and  a  half  in  the  War 
Department,  and  his  father,  although  he  had  voted  for 
Lincoln  in  1864,  was  also  discharged  from  a  posi- 
tion which  he  held  in  the  United  States  Arsenal  at 
Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Weichmann  met  all  this  adversity  in  a  firm  and 
manly  way,  feeling  that  the  Government  was  not  to 
blame  for  making  the  inquiry,  but  that  his  trouble  was 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  igi 

all  because  he  had  made  his  home  with  Mrs.  Surratt  and 
her  son  out  of  a  pure  act  of  kindness  and  friendship  and 
from  a  desire  to  befriend  them,  and  above  all  to  be  with 
the  friend  of  his  schoolboy  days. 

He  was  called  to  the  witness  stand  on  May  7,  and  gave 
the  following  testimony,  which  gave  Mrs.  Surratt  the 
best  character  of  anyone  during  the  trial. 

By  Reverdy  Johnson: 

Q.  During  the  whole  of  that  period  you  never  heard 
him  [Booth]  intimate  that  it  was  his  purpose,  or  that 
there  was  a  purpose,  to  assassinate  the  President? 

A.  Never,  sir. 

Q.  You  never  heard  him  say  anything  on  the  sub- 
ject, or  anybody  else,  during  the  whole  period  from  No- 
vember until  the  assassination? 

A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  During  the  whole  of  that  period  what  was  her 
[Mrs.  Surratt's]  character? 

A.  It  was  excellent;  I  have  known  her  since  1863. 

Q.  During  the  whole  of  that  time,  as  far  as  you  could 
judge,  was  her  character  good  and  amiable? 

A.  Her  character  was  exemplary  and  ladylike  in  every 
particular. 

Q.  Then,  if  I  understand  you,  from  November  up  to 
the  I4th  of  April,  whenever  she  was  here,  she  was  regu- 
lar in  her  attendance  at  her  own  church,  and  apparently, 
as  far  as  you  could  judge,  doing  all  her  duties  to  God 
and  to  man? 

A.  Yes,  sir. 

By  Ekin: 

Q.  You  were  not  suspicious  of  anything  of  the  sort? 

A.  I  would  have  been  the  last  man  in  the  world  to  sus- 


lQ2         ASSASSINATION   6F  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

pect  John  Surratt,  my  schoolmate,  of  the  murder  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  cross-examined  by  the  seven  very  able  lawyers 
for  the  defense,  but  was  in  no  wise  shaken  in  what  he 
said.  On  cross-examination  he  gave  Mrs.  Surratt  the 
best  character  of  any  witness  on  the  stand,  and  in  his 
testimony  he  did  not  say  one  word  of  a  compromising 
character  or  nature  against  her. 

But  his  testimony  more  than  that  of  anyone  in  the  case 
was  mainly  relied  on  to  establish  what  is  known  as  a 
prima.  facie  conspiracy. 

Judge  Bingham  said  of  Weichmann,  in  his  great  and 
closing  argument,  that  the  defense  had  not  contradicted 
a  single  fact  to  which  he  testified,  nor  had  they  found  a 
breath  of  suspicion  against  his  character. 

Mr.  Weichmann  was  subsequently  reinstated  in  the 
Government  service,  in  the  Custom  House  at  Philadel- 
phia, which  he  retained  for  many  years,  and  resigned  on 
October  i,  1886. 

He  won  by  his  conduct  the  personal  respect  of  Stan- 
ton,  Holt,  Bingham,  and  Burnett,  and  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence and  best  wishes  of  every  member  of  the  Com- 
mission. 

Perhaps  a  better  conclusion  cannot  be  made  of  this 
sketch  than  by  giving  extracts  from  several  letters  which 
Mr.  Weichmann  has  already  been  compelled  to  make 
public: 

Of  him  Major  Richards  says : 

EUSTIS,  FLA.,  December  20,  1898. 
Mr.  L.  J.  WEICHMANN. 

My  Dear  Sir :  I  have  your  letter  of  December  15,  1898,  and  in 
reply  I  take  much  pleasure  in  giving  you  the  information  you 
desire. 


LOUIS  J.   WEICHMANN.  193 

You  did  report  to  me  about  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
April  15,  1865,  and  communicated  to  me  such  facts  as  had  come 
to  your  knowledge  at  that  time.  You  acted  as  special  officer 
with  my  men,  going  with  them  to  lower  Maryland,  Baltimore, 
and  finally  to  Canada,  in  pursuit  of  some  of  the  alleged  guilty 
parties. 

In  no  instance  was  any  statement  made  by  you  in  relation  to 
the  conspiracy  found  to  be  false  or  incorrect,  and  very  many  of 
your  assertions  were  subsequently  corroborated  by  undoubted 
testimony  of  which  you  did  not  know  the  existence.  No  threats 
or  undue  influence  of  any  kind  were  resorted  to  by  any  of  us  to 
control  your  actions. 

You  performed  a  manly  part  all  the  way  through,  and  did 
your  duty  in  such  a  manner  as  to  win  the  admiration  of  all 
lovers  of  the  truth. 

Let  me  add  that  the  fact  that  you  were  a  boarder  at  Mrs. 
Surratt's  house  may  have  been  to  you  the  cause  of  much  per- 
sonal sacrifice  in  your  worldly  prospects,  and  of  much  suffering, 
but  for  the  sake  of  justice  and  in  behalf  of  the  murdered 
Lincoln,  I  deem  it  a  most  fortunate  event  that  you  were 
there. 

Respectfully  yours, 

A.  C.  RICHARDS. 

And  General  Burnett  has  this  to  offer: 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  January  27,  1867. 

There  is  but  one  criterion,  Weichmann,  for  any  witness,  or 
indeed  for  any  man  in  any  circumstance  in  life,  and  that  is 
when  stating  or  relating  anything,  let  that  statement  be  purely 
the  truth;  let  it  ttten  be  given  fearlessly  and  faithfully.  Truth 
is  ever  consistent.  It  conflicts  only  with  that  which  is  untrue 
and  false  in  the  world.  The  man  who  worships  at  the  shrine  of 
truth  will  triumph  in  the  world;  in  the  end  he  will  put  his 
enemies  under  his  feet. 

I  reciprocate  your  expressions  of  kind  feelings.  I  have  always 
believed  that  in  that  trial  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  assassins  you  en- 
acted an  honorable  and  truthful  part,  and  did  our  struggling 
country  great  service. 

Yours  truly, 

H.  L.  BURNETT. 


194         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Weichmann  was  also  a  witness  at  the  trial  of  John 
H.  Surratt  in  1867,  and  virtually  repeated  his  testimony 
of  1865. 

Probably  no  one  has  suffered  more  persecution  and 
misrepresentation  because  of  his  testimony  and  his  duty 
to  the  Government  at  the  trial  of  the  conspirators  than 
has  Mr.  Weichmann.  It  has  been  almost  continuous, 
and  has  been  done  for  the  purpose  of  striking  him  down 
and  disparaging  him  before  the  country,  so.  that  the  peo- 
ple who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  conspirators  could 
claim  that  the  Commission  was  wrong  in  its  verdict  of 
1865  in  regard  to,  at  least,  one  of  the  parties  accused. 

It  was  Mr.  Weichmann's  intention  to  have  resigned 
his  position  under  the  Government  on  the  ist  of  July, 
1865,  and  after  a  few  months'  vacation  to  enter  St.  Mary's 
Seminary  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  for  the  purpose  of  continu- 
ing his  studies  for  the  Catholic  priesthood.  He  had  vis- 
ited Baltimore  in  consequence  of  a  letter  received  from 
the  Catholic  bishop  of  Richmond,  Va.,  in  the  latter  part 
of  January,  1865,  and  had  made  arrangements  with  the 
president  of  the  seminary  to  that  end. 

In  the  meantime  the  terrible  tragedy  of  the  I4th  of 
April  occurred,  and  because  of  the  stand  taken  by  him 
for  the  Government,  Mr.  Weichmann  was  not  able  to 
complete  his  studies,  but  was  compelled  to  work  out  his 
destiny  in  another  field  in  life.  In  this  he  was  most 
nobly  helped  by  Secretary  Stanton  and  Judge  Holt. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    EXECUTION. 

MR.  JOHN  M.  LLOYD,  who  kept  Mrs.  Surratt's  tavern 
at  Surrattsville,  testified  during  the  trial  that  some  five  or 
six  weeks  before  the  assassination  John  H.  Surratt, 
David  E.  Herold,  and  George  A.  Atzerodt  came  to  his 
house.  He  said:  "Atzerodt  and  Surratt  first  drove  up 
to  my  house  in  the  morning,  and  went  toward  T.  B.,  a 
post-office  about  five  miles  below  here.  They  had  not 
been  gone  more  than  half  an  hour  when  they  returned 
with  Herold.  All  three,  when  they  came  into  the  bar- 
room, drank,  I  think.  John  Surratt  then  called  me  into 
the  front  parlor,  where  on  the  sofa  were  two  carbines  with 
ammunition,  also  a  rope  from  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  in 
length,  and  a  monkey-wrench.  Surratt  asked  me  to  take 
care  of  these  things,  and  to  conceal  the  carbines.  I  told 
him  there  was  no  place  to  conceal  them,  and  I  did  not 
wish  to  keep  such  things.  He  then  took  me  into  a  room 
I  had  never  been  in,  immediately  above  the  store  room, 
in  the  back  part  of  the  building.  He  showed  me  where 
I  could  put  the  articles  underneath  the  joists  of  the  sec- 
ond floor  of  the  main  building.  I  put  them  there  accord- 
ing to  his  directions.  Surratt  said  he  just  wanted  them 
to  stay  for  a  few  days,  and  he  would  call  for  them.  On 
the  Tuesday  before  the  assassination  of  the  President 
I  was  coming  to  Washington,  and  met  Mrs.  Surratt  on 
the  road  at  Uniontown  [Anacostia].  When  she  first 
broached  the  subject  to  me  about  the  articles  at  my  place, 

'95 


196         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I  did  not  know  what  she  had  reference  to.  Then  she 
came  out  plainer,  and  asked  me  about  the  '  shooting- 
irons.'  I  had  myself  forgotten  about  their  being  there. 
I  told  her  they  were  hid  away  far  back,  and  that  I  was 
afraid  the  house  might  be  searched.  She  told  me  to  get 
them  out  ready;  that  they  would  be  wanted  soon.  I  do 
not  recollect  distinctly  the  first  question  she  put  to  me. 
Her  language  was  indistinct,  as  if  she  wanted  to  draw 
my  attention  to  something,  so  that  no  one  else  would 
understand.  Finally  she  expressed  herself  more  plainly, 
and  said  they  would  be  wanted  soon.  I  told  her  that  I 
had  an  idea  of  having  them  buried;  that  I  was  very  uneasy 
about  having  them  there.  On  the  I4th  of  April  I  went 
to  Marlboro  to  attend  a  trial,  and  in  the  evening  when  I 
got  home,  which  I  should  judge  was  about  five  o'clock, 
I  found  Mrs.  Surratt  there.  She  met  me  out  by  the 
wood-pile  as  I  drove  in  with  some  fish  and  oysters  in 
my  buggy.  She  told  me  to  have  those  shooting-irons 
ready  that  night,  there  would  be  some  parties  who  would 
call  for  them.  She  gave  me  something  wrapped  in  a 
piece  of  paper,  which  I  took  upstairs  and  found  to 
be  a  field-glass.  She  told  me  to  get  two  bottles  of 
whisky  ready,  and  that  these  things  were  to  be  called 
for  that  night.  Just  about  midnight  on  Friday  Herold 
came  into  the  house  and  said,  '  Lloyd,  for  God's  sake, 
make  haste  and  get  those  things! '  I  did  not  make  any 
reply,  but  went  straight  and  got  the  carbines,  supposing 
they  were  the  parties  Mrs.  Surratt  had  referred  to, 
though  she  didn't  mention  any  names.  From  the  way 
he  spoke  he  must  have  been  apprised  that  I  already  knew 
what  I  was  to  give  him.  Mrs.  Surratt  told  me  to  give 
the  carbines,  whisky,  and  field-glass.  I  did  not  give  them 
the  rope  and  monkey-wrench.  Booth  didn't  come  in.  I 
did  not  know  him;  he  was  a  stranger  to  me.  He  re- 


THE   EXECUTION.  197 

mained  on  his  horse.  Herold  took  a  bottle  of  whisky  out 
to  Booth,  and  he  drank  while  mounted.  Herold,  I  think, 
drank  some  out. of  the  glass  before  he  went  out.  I  do 
not  think  he  remained  over  five  minutes.  They  only  took 
one  of  the  carbines.  Booth  said  he  could  not  take  his, 
because  his  leg  was  broken.  Just  as  they  were  about 
leaving,  the  man  who  was  with  Herold  said :  '  I  will  tell 
you  some'  news,  if  you  want  to  hear  it,'  or  something  to 
that  effect.  I  said,  '  I  am  not  particular;  use  your  own 
pleasure  about  telling  it.'  '  Well,'  he  said,  '  I  am  pretty 
certain  that  we  have  assassinated  the  President  and 
Secretary  Seward.'  I  think  that  was  his  language,  as 
well  as  I  can  recollect.  Whether  Herold  was  present  at 
the  time  he  said  that,  or  whether  he  was  across  the  street, 
I  am  not  positive;  I  was  much  excited  and  unnerved  at 
the  time.  When  Herold  brought  back  the  bottle  from 
which  Booth  had  drunk  the  whisky,  he  remarked  to  me: 
'I  owe  you  a  couple  of  dollars,'  and  said  he:  'Here.' 
With  that  he  offered  me  a  note,  which  next  morning  I 
found  to  be  one  dollar,  which  about  paid  for  the  bottle 
of  liquor  they  had  just  pretty  nearly  drunk.  When  Booth 
and  Herold  left  my  house  they  took  the  road  toward 
T.  B.,  and  rode  off  at  a  pretty  rapid  gait." 

Mr.  Holohan  boarded  with  Mrs.  Surratt  during  the 
winter  and  spring  and  up  to  the  night  of  the  assassina- 
tion. While  there  he  said  that  he  saw  Atzerodt  several 
times,  and  Payne  once  at  breakfast.  Atzerodt  'Seemed 
to  be  with  John  Surratt  most  of  the  time.  John  Wilkes 
Booth  he  saw  quite  frequently  with  Mrs.  Surratt  and 
the  ladies  in  the  parlor. 

Mr.  E.  L.  Smoot,  residing  a  mile  from  Surrattsville, 
testified  that  on  the  day  after  the  assassination  he  met 


198         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

two  young  men  at  Surrattsville,  and  one  of  them  said 
that  John  H.  Surratt  was  supposed  to  be  the  man  who 
attempted  to  kill  Mr.  Seward.  The  question  was  asked 
Mr.  Joseph  T.  Nott,  the  bartender  at  the  Surratt  tavern, 
if  he  could  tell  where  John  Surratt  was.  He  smiled  and 
said:  "I  reckon  John  is  in  New  York  by  this  time." 
He  was  asked  why  he  thought  so,  when  he  replied:  "  My 
God!  John  knows  all  about  the  murder;  do  you  suppose 
he  is  going  to  stay  in  Washington  and  let  them  catch 
him?  I  could  have  told  you  six  months  ago  this  was 
coming  to  pass."  He  put  his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  Mr. 
Smoot  and  said:  "Keep  that  in  your  own  skin,  my  boy. 
Don't  mention  that;  if  you  do,  it  will  ruin  me  forever." 
On  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  July  the  findings  of  the 
court,  approved  by  the  President,  were  made  public. 
That  morning  about  nine  o'clock  General  Hartranft,  ac- 
companied by  the  judges  of  the  court  and  the  of- 
ficers of  the  prison,  went  to  the  cell  of  each  prisoner  and 
read  the  verdict  to  him.  The  four  who  were  con- 
demned— Herold,  Payne,  Atzerodt,  and  Mrs.  Surratt — 
were  very  much  affected.  .The  condemned  prisoners 
were  taken  from  their  cells  and  placed  in  a  large  room 
on  the  ground  floor,  and  their  friends  and  spiritual  ad- 
visers were  allowed  to  see  them.  The  sight  of  the  seven 
sisters  of  Herold  weeping  around  him  was  affecting  to 
the  officers  and  guards  to  the  last  degree. 

George  Alfred  Townsend,  a  special  correspondent, 
representing  the  New  York  World  at  the  execution,  gave 
a  conscientiously  written  statement  of  the  penalty  paid 
by  the  four  for  the  part  they  took  in  the  great  con- 
spiracy, which  is  as  follows: 

•'  "  I  entered  a  large,  grassy  yard,  surrounded  by  an  ex- 
ceedingly high  wall.     On  the  top  of  this  wall  soldiers, 


THE   EXECUTION.  199 

with  muskets  in  their  hands,  were  thickly  planted.  The 
yard  below  was  broken  by  irregular  buildings  of  brick. 
I  climbed  by  a  flight  of  outside  stairs  to  the  central  build- 
ing, where  many  officers  were  seated  at  the  windows,  and 
looked  a  while  at  the  strange  scene  on  the  grassy  plaza. 
On  the  left  the  long,  barred,  impregnable  penitentiary 
rose.  The  shady  spots  beneath  it  were  occupied  by  hud- 
dling spectators.  Soldiers  were  filling  their  canteens  at 
the  pumps.  A  face  or  two  looked  out  from  the  barred 
jail.  The  north  side  of  the  yard  was  enclosed  on  three 
sides  by  columns  of  soldiers  drawn  up  in  regular  order, 
the  side  next  to  the  penitentiary  being  short  to  admit 
of  ingress  to  the  prisoners'  door;  but  the  opposite 
column  reached  entirely  up  to  the  north  wall.  The  gal- 
lows consisted  of  a  beam  resting  horizontally  in  the  air, 
twenty  feet  from  the  ground.  Four  ropes  at  irregular  in- 
tervals dangled  from  it,  each  noosed  at  the  end.  It  was 
upheld  by  three  props,  one  in  the  center  and  one  at  each 
end.  These  props  came  all  the  way  to  the  ground,  where 
they  were  mortised  in  heavy  bars.  Midway  of  them  a 
floor  was  laid,  twenty  by  twelve  feet,  held  in  its  position 
on  the  farther' side  by  shorter  props,  of  which  there  were 
many,  and  reached  by  fifteen  steps,  railed  on  either  side. 
This  floor  had  no  supports  on  the  side  nearest  the  eye, 
except  two  temporary  rods,  at  the  foot  of  which  two  in- 
clined beams  pointed  menacingly,  held  in  poise  by  ropes 
from  the  gallows  floor.  Two  hinges  only  held  the  floor 
to  its  firmer  half.  These  were  to  give  way  at  the  fatal 
moment. 

"  The  traps  were  two,  sustained  by  two  different  props. 
The  nooses  were  on  each  side  of  the  central  support. 
Close  by  the  foot  of  the  gallows  four  wooden  boxes  were 
at  the  edge  of  four  newly  excavated  graves,  the  fresh 
earth  of  which  was  already  dried  and  brittle  in  the  burn- 


2OO 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


ing  sun.  In  these  boxes  and  pits  were  to  be  placed  the 
victims  when  the  gallows  had  let  them  down.  Not  far 
from  these,  in  silence  and  darkness  beneath  the  prison 

Lt.-Col.  G.  W.  Frederick.    Lt.  G.  W.  Geissinger.    Surg.  G.  L.  Porter. 


General  John  P.  Hartranft. 
Capt.  A.  R.  Watts.    Lt.-Col.  W.  H.  McCall.    Col.  L.  A.  Dodd.    Capt.  C.  Roth. 

GENERAL   JOHN    F.   HARTRANFT   AND    STAFF,   IN    CHARGE    OF    THE 
EXECUTION  OF  THE  CONSPIRATORS. 

where  they  had  lain  so  long  and  so  forebodingly,  the 
body  of  John  Wilkes  Booth,  sealed  up  in  the  brick  floor, 
had  been  moldering.  If  the  dead  can  hear,  he  had  lis- 
tened many  a  time  to  the  rattle  of  their  manacles  upon 
the  stairs;  to  the  drowsy  hum  of  the  trial  and  the  buzz 
of  the  garrulous  spectators ;  to  the  moaning  or  the  gib- 
ing or  the  praying  in  the  bolted  cells  where  those  whom 


THE   EXECUTION.  2OI 

kindred  fate  had  given  a  little  lease  upon  life  lay  wait- 
ing for  the  terrible  pronouncement.  The  sentence  gave 
them  only  till  two  o'clock,  and  it  was  near  that  time, 
when  suddenly  the  wicket  opens,  the  troops  spring  to 
their  feet  and  stand  at  order  arms,  the  flags  go  up,  the 
low  order  passes  from  company  to  company;  the  specta- 
tors huddle  a  little  nearer  to  the  scaffold;  all  the  writers 
for  the  press  produce  their  pencils  and  notebooks. 

"  First  came  a  middle-aged  woman  dressed  in  black, 
bonneted  and  veiled,  walking  between  two  bareheaded 
priests.  One  of  these  held  against  his  breast  a  crucifix 
of  jet,  and  in  the  folds  of  his  blue-fringed  sash  he  car- 
ried an  open  breviary,  while  both  of  them  muttered  the 
service  of  the  dead.  Four  soldiers,  with  muskets  at 
shoulder,  followed,  and  a  captain  led  the  way  to  the 
gallows. 

"  The  second  party  escorted  a  small  and  shambling 
German,  whose  head  had  a  long  white  cap  upon  it,  ren- 
dering more  filthy  his  dull  complexion,  and  upon  whose 
feet  the  chains  clanked  as  he  slowly  advanced,  preceded 
by  two  officers,  flanked  by  a  Lutheran  clergyman,  and 
followed,  as  his  predecessor,  by  an  armed  squad. 

"The  third  preacher  and  party  clustered  about  a 
shabby  boy,  whose  limbs  tottered  as  he  progressed. 

"  The  fourth  walked  in,  the  shadow  of  a  straight  high 
statue,  whose  tawny  hair  and  large  blue  eyes  were  sug- 
gestive rather  of  the  barbarian  striding  in  in  his  con- 
queror's triumph  than  the  assassin  going  to  the  gallows. 
All  these,  captives,  priests,  guards,  and  officers,  nearly 
twenty  in  all,  climbed  slowly  and  solemnly  the  narrow 
steps;  and  upon  four  armchairs,  stretching  across  the 
stage  in  the  rear  of  the  traps,  the  condemned  were  seated 
with  their  spiritual  attendants  behind  them. 

"  The  findings  and  warrants  were  immediately  read 


202         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

to  the  prisoners  by  General  Hartranft  in  a  quiet  and  re- 
spectful tone,  an  aid  holding  an  umbrella  over  him. 
Mrs.  Surratt  was  placed  on  the  right,  and  the  nearest  to 
her  was  Payne,  followed  by  Herold  and  Atzerodt.  At 
first  Mrs.  Surratt  was  very  feeble,  and  leaned  her  head 
upon  alternate  sides  of  her  armchair  in  nervous  spasms; 
but  now  and  then,  when  a  sort  of  wail  just  issued  from 
her  lips,  the  priest  placed  before  her  the  crucifix  to  lull 
her  fearful  spirit.  All  the  while  the  good  Fathers  Wigett 
and  Walter  murmured  their  low,  tender  cadences,  and 
now  and  then  the  woman's  face  lost  its  deadly  fear,  and 
took  a  bold,  cognizable  survey  of  the  spectators.  She 
wore  a  robe  of  dark  woolen,  no  collar,  and  common  shoes 
of  black  listing.  Her  general  expression  was  that  of 
acute  suffering,  vanishing  at  times  as  if  by  the  conjura- 
tion of  her  pride,  and  again  returning  in  a  paroxysm,  as 
she  looked  at  the  dreadful  rope  dangling  before  her. 

"  Payne,  the  strongest  criminal  in  our  history,  was 
alone  dignified  and  self-possessed.  He  wore  a  closely 
fitting  knit  shirt,  a  sailor's  straw  hat  tied  with  a  ribbon, 
and  dark  pantaloons,  but  no  shoes.  His  collar,  cut  very 
low,  showed  the  tremendous  muscular ity" of  his  neck,  and 
the  breadth  of  his  breast  was  more  conspicuous  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  pinioned  arms  thrust  it  forward. 
His  height,  his  vigor,  his  glare,  made  him  the  strong 
central  figure  of  the  tableau.  He  looked  at  death  as  for 
one  long  expected,  and  not  a  tremor  nor  a  shock  stirred 
his  long,  stately  limbs;  and  he  died  without  taking  the 
hand  of  any  living  friend. 

"  Herold,  the  third  condemned,  although  whimper- 
ing, had  far  more  grit  than  I  anticipated:  he  was  in- 
quisitive and  flippant-faced,  and  looked  at  the  noose 
flaunting  before  him  and  at  the  people  gathered  below. 
Atzerodt  wore  a  grayish  coat,  black  vest,  light  panta- 


THE   EXECUTION. 


203 


loons  and  slippers,  and  a  white  affair  on  his  head,  per- 
haps a  handkerchief.  He  was  visited  by  his  mother  and 
a  poor  ignorant  woman  with  whom  he  cohabited.  He 
was  the  picture  of  despair,  and  died  ridiculously,  whis- 
tling up  his  courage. 

"  When  General  Hartranft  ceased  reading,  there  was 


VIEW  OF    THE    SCAFFOLD    WHILE    THE    OFFICERS   ARE    ADJUSTING    THE 
NOOSES  AROUND  THE  NECKS  OF  THE  CONDEMNED. 


a  momentary  lull,  broken  only  by  the  cadences  of  the 
priests. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gillette  addressed  the  spectators  in  a 
deep,  impressive  tone.  The  prisoner  Payne  requested 
him  to  thus  publicly  and  sincerely  return  his  thanks  to 
General  Hartranft,  the  other  officers,  the  soldiers,  and 


204         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

all  persons  who  had  charge  of  him  and  had  attended  him. 
Dr.  Gillette  then  followed  in  a  fervent  prayer  in  behalf  of 
the  prisoners,  during  which  Payne's  eyes  momentarily 
filled  with  tears,  and  he  followed  in  the  prayer  with  visi- 
ble feeling. 

"  Rev.  Dr.  Olds  followed,  saying  in  behalf  of  the  pris- 
oner, David  E.  Herold,  that  he  tendered  his  forgiveness 
to  all  who  had  wronged  him,  and  asked  the  forgiveness 
of  all  whom  he  had  wronged.  He  gave  his  thanks  to 
the  officers  and  guards  for  kindnesses  rendered  him.  He 
hoped  that  he  died  in  charity  with  all  men  and  at  peace 
with  God.  Dr.  Olds  concluded  with  a  feeling  prayer  for 
the  prisoner. 

"  Rev.  Dr.  Butler  then  made  a  similar  return  of  thanks 
on  behalf  of  George  A.  Atzerodt  for  kindness  received 
from  his  guards  and  attendants,  and  concluded  with  an 
earnest  invocation  in  behalf  of  the  criminal,  saying  that 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanses  from  all  sin,  and  ask- 
ing that  God  Almighty  have  mercy  upon  this  man.  The 
two  holy  fathers  having  received  Mrs.  Surratt's  confes- 
sion, after  the  custom  of  their  creed,  observed  silence. 
In  this,  as  in  other  respects,  Mrs.  Surratt's  last  hours 
were  entirely  modest  and  womanly.  The  stage  was  still 
filled  with  people;  the  crisis  of  the  occasion  had  come; 
the  chairs  were  all  withdrawn,  and  the  condemned  stood 
upon  their  feet,  and  the  process  of  tying  the  limbs  began. 

"  It  was  with  a  shudder,  almost  a  blush,  that  I  saw 
an  officer  gather  the  ropes  tightly  three  times  about  the 
robes  of  Mrs.  Surratt,  and  bind  her  ankles  with  cords. 
She  half  fainted,  and  sank  backward  upon  the  attendants, 
her  limbs  yielding  to  the  extremity  of  her  terror,  but 
uttering  no  cry.  Payne,  with  his  feet  firmly  laced  to- 
gether, stood  straight  as  one  of  the  scaffold  beams,  and 
braced  himself  up  so  stoutly  that  this  in  part  prevented 


THE   EXECUTION. 


205 


the  breaking  of  his  neck.     Herold  stood  well  beneath 
the  drop,  still  whimpering  at  the  lips.     Atzerodt,  in  his 


VIEW  OF  THE  SCAFFOLD  AFTER  THE  TRAP  WAS  SPRUNG. 

Captain  C.  Roth,  the  executioner,  is  still  living,  and  says:  "I  received 
orders  from  General  John  P.  Hartranft  to  execute  Mrs.  Surratt,  Payne, 
Herold,  and  Atzerodt.  The  orders  were  that  the  execution  should  take 
place  at  one  o'clock,  July  7,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  circumstances  would 
permit.  It  did  not  come  off  as  early  as  was  expected,  from  the  fact  that 
General  Hancock,  whose  presence  was  necessary,  failed  to  appear.  It  was 
stated  that  Mrs.  Surratt's  counsel  undertook  to  stop  the  execution  by  having 
Hancock  arrested.  I  saw  the  gallows  built  and  secured  the  rope,  which  was 
a  three-ply  Boston  hemp,  from  the  Navy  Yard.  I  made  the  nooses  and 
placed  them  on  the  beam,  saw  them  adjusted  on  the  victims,  then  stepped 
aside  and  gave  the  signal  to  the  men  underneath  the  gallows  to  spring  the 
traps.  A  short  time  afterward  the  bodies  were  taken  down  and  buried." 

groveling  attitude,  while  they  tied  him,  began  to  indulge 
in  his  old  vice  of  gabbing.  Again,  when  the  white  death- 
cap  was  drawn  over  his  face,  he  continued  to  cry  out 


206         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

under  it,  saying:  '  Good-by,  shentlemens  who  is  before 
me  now,'  and  again,  '  May  we  meet  in  the  other  world; 
God  help  me.'  Herold  protested  against  the  knot,  it 
being  as  huge  as  one's  double  fist.  Mrs.  Surratt  asked 
to  be  supported,  that  she  might  not  fall.  When  the 
death-caps  were  all  drawn  over  the  faces  of  the  prisoners, 
and  they  stood  in  line  in  the  awful  suspense  between 
absolute  life  and  immediate  death,  an  officer  signaled  the 
executioners,  and  the  great  beams  were  darted  against 
the  props  simultaneously.  The  two  traps  fell  with  a 
slam,  the  four  bodies  dropped  like  a  single  thing.  The 
bodies  were  allowed  to  hang  about  twenty  minutes,  when 
Surgeon  Otis,  U.  S.  V.,  and  Assistant  Surgeons  Wood- 
ward and  Porter,  U.  S.  A.,  examined  them  and  pro- 
nounced all  dead. 

"  In  about  ten  minutes  more  a  ladder  was  placed 
against  the  scaffold  and  the  bodies  were  cut  down  and 
given  over  to  a  squad  of  soldiers,  who  placed  them  in 
plain  pine  boxes,  and  lowered  them  in  the  graves  pre- 
pared for  them."  * 

In  the  minds  of  many  the  burial  of  John  Wilkes  Booth 
is  yet  an  unsolved  mystery.  An  illustrated  paper,  in  its 
first  issue  after  his  death,  gave  a  picture  of  two  men 
throwing  his  body  from  a  rowboat  into  the  Potomac 
River.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  the  body  was 
first  buried  in  a  pine  gunbox  in  one  of  the  cells  of  the 

*  It  has  been  said,  and  very  generally  believed,  that  the  con- 
spirators were  all,  or  nearly  so,  Catholics;  but  such  was  not  the 
case.  Of  the  ten,  four  were  of  that  faith — Mrs.  Surratt,  her  son, 
John  H.  Surratt,  Dr.  Mudd,  and  Michael  O'Laughlin.  Mrs.  Surratt 
was  a  convert  from  the  Protestant  faith.  Her  husband  at  one 
time  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at  Surrattsville. 
Booth  and  Herold  were  Episcopalians,  Payne  a  Baptist  and  a 
son  of  a  Baptist  minister;  Atzerodt  claimed  to  be  a  Lutheran, 
and  Arnold  was  a  Protestant. 


x   (a 

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THE   EXECUTION.  209 

old  penitentiary  in  the  Arsenal  grounds,  where  it  re- 
mained until  1867,  when  the  main  part  of  the  building 
was  torn  down.  The  body  was  then  removed,  with  the 
four  that  had  been  executed,  to  one  of  the  large  store- 
houses situated  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  grounds,  and 
there  it  remained  until  February,  1869,  when  President 
Johnson  gave  Edwin  Booth  permission  to  remove  it  to 
Baltimore,  Md.,  where  it  now  reposes  in  the  Booth  lot 
in  Greenmount  Cemetery.  Edwin  Booth,  after  securing 
the  approval  of  President  Johnson  for  its  removal,  gave 
instructions  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Weaver,  an  undertaker  of  Balti- 
more, to  perform  that  work.  Mr.  Weaver  called  to  his 
assistance  Harvey  &  Marr,  undertakers,  of  Washing- 
ton, who  went  to  the  Arsenal  grounds  and  exhumed  the 
remains.  Edwin  Booth  accompanied  Mr.  Weaver  from 
Baltimore,  and  with  Mr.  Harvey  went  to  the  Arsenal 
grounds.  Mr.  W.  R.  Speare,  the  present  undertaker, 
at  No.  940  F  Street,  who  was  then  a  boy  in  the  employ 
of  Harvey  &  Marr,  drove  the  furniture  wagon  that 
brought  the  remains  of  Booth  to  the  alley  in  the  rear 
of  Ford's  Theater,  almost  to  the  very  door  from  which 
he  started  on  the  night  of  April  14,  1865.  The  wagon 
backed  up  to  the  door  of  the  stable  that  Booth  had  for- 
merly used.  The  box  was  somewhat  decayed,  but  the 
lettering  on  it  was  legible.  When  the  box  was  opened 
and  the  body  taken  from  the  blanket  which  was  wrapped 
around  it,  it  was  found  that  four  years'  burial  had 
brought  it  to  decay.  The  skull  was  detached,  and,  when 
lifted  out,  a  dentist,  who  had  rilled  Booth's  teeth,  identi- 
fied his  work,  thus  proving  the  identity  of  the  body  be- 
yond a  doubt.  The  hair  was  in  its  natural  state,  and 
hung  in  long  ringlets.  A  report  was  made  to  Edwin 
Booth,  who  was  in  the  front  office,  and  who,  when  in- 
formed of  the  examination,  expressed  his  satisfaction,  and 


210         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

then  directed  Mr.  Weaver  to  take  the  body  to  Baltimore. 
A  plain  coffin  was  taken  out  to  the  stable,  the  contents 
of  the  box  placed  in  it,  and  the  remains  driven  to  the 


rSUP'T  GREEN  MOUNT  CEMETERY, 


LETTER  FROM  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  GREEN  MOUNT 
CEMETERY. 

Baltimore  &  Ohio  train  for  Baltimore.  The  bodies  of 
the  conspirators  that  were  executed  in  the  Arsenal 
grounds  were  delivered  to  their  friends  and  given  Chris- 
tian burial.  The  remains  of  Mrs.  Surratt  were  taken 
from  the  Arsenal  grounds  to  Mount  Olivet  (Catholic) 
Cemetery,  northeast  of  the  city,  where  the  pine  gunbox 
in  which  she  was  buried  was  exchanged  for  an  appro- 
priate casket.  A  modest  headstone  bearing  only  the 
name,  "  Mrs.  Surratt,"  was  placed  at  the  grave.  Herold 
was  buried  at  the  Congressional  Cemetery,  on  the  banks 
of  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac,  east  of  the  city; 
and  Atzerodt  sleeps  at  Glenwood  Cemetery,  a  mile  north 


THE  EXECUTION.  211 

of  the  Capitol.  The  remains  of  Payne  were  buried  in 
Holmead  Cemetery,  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  city,  but 
in  after  years  were  exhumed,  as  the  cemetery  was  discon- 
tinued. The  body  of  Captain  Wirz,  who  was  hanged  in 
the  Old  Capitol  Prison,  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  his  in- 
human treatment  of  soldiers  at  Andersonville,  lay  fifth 
in  a  fearful  row  of  graves, — Mrs.  Surratt,  Payne,  Herold, 
Atzerodt,  and  Wirz, — but  was  removed  to  Mount  Olivet 
at  the  same  time  that  the  others  were.  Dr.  Mudd  sleeps 
in  the  Catholic  Cemetery  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  near 
Bryantown,  and  Spangler  died  at  Dr.  Mudd's,  Febru- 
ary 27,  1875,  and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  connected 
with  St.  Peter's  Church,  within  two  miles  of  Dr.  Mudd's 
house.  Michael  O'Laughlin  died  of  yellow  fever  while 
serving  his  life  sentence  at  Dry  Tortugas,  Fla.,  Septem- 
ber 23,  1867.  President  Johnson  issued  an  order  Febru- 
ary 13,  1869,  that  the  remains  of  O'Laughlin  be  deliv- 
ered to  his  mother,  and  they  were  brought  north  from 
Dry  Tortugas.  Samuel  A.  Arnold  is  buried  near  Balti- 
more, Md.  John  H.  Surratt,  the  only  one  left  out  of 
the  ten  conspirators,  is  living  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  en- 
gaged as  auditor  for  the  Old  Bay  Line  Steamship  Com- 
pany. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE    CONSPIRACY    AND    THE    CONSPIRATORS. 

THERE  were  numerous  attempts  upon  the  life  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  during  his  Presidential  term.  It  was  the 
purpose  of  the  conspirators  to  kidnap  and  hold  him  in 
captivity,  without  injury  to  his  person,  until  such  con- 
cessions were  made  to  the  Southern  leaders  as  their  plan 
of  compromise  rendered  necessary.  The  various  schemes 
of  abduction  having  proved  futile,  some  of  the  more 
desperate  among  the  conspirators,  exasperated  by  these 
repeated  failures,  resolved  to  dispose  of  Mr.  Lincoln  by 
the  dagger  or  the  bullet. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  elevation  to  the  Presidency  of 
the  United  States,  a  conspiracy  against  his  life  was 
formed,  and  followed  him  from  the  quiet  of  his  home  at 
Springfield,  111.,  to  the  capital  of  the  nation,  and  sought 
in  various  ways  to  encompass  his  assassination;  and 
though  various  attempts  upon  his  life  were  made,  his 
spirit  never  appears  to  have  been  embittered  in  the  least 
against  his  enemies.  Not  the  least  shade  of  vindictive- 
ness  is  discernible.  Malice  seems  to  have  had  no  place 
in  his  nature.  As  early  as  the  month  of  January,  1861, 
knowledge  was  had  that  threats  were  made  to  assassinate 
Mr.  Lincoln  when  on  his  way  from  his  home  to  Wash- 
ington. As  the  time  grew  near  for  his  departure,  the  plot 
thickened,  and  news  reached  Washington  that  another 
was  being  formed  in  Baltimore,  and  that  threats  had 
been  made  that  he  should  not  be  inaugurated.  De- 
tectives were  sent  to  that  city,  and  it  was  soon  found 


THE  CONSPIRACY  AND   THE  CONSPIRATORS.      213 

that  such  a  plot  was  in  existence.  The  plan  was  to 
break  or  burn  one  of  the  bridges  north  of  Baltimore,  at 
the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  anticipated  approach,  and,  in 
the  confusion  of  the  accidental  stoppage  of  the  train,  to 
assassinate  him  in  the  cars.  The  intended  route  of  the 
President  from  Illinois  to  Washington  being  published, 
they  knew  at  just  what  time  the  train  would  pass  through 
Baltimore. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  own  statement  as  to  his  fear  of  as- 
sassination in  passing  through  Baltimore  is  given,  and 
fully  proves  the  fact  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  do 
him  harm.  He  says:  "Mr.  Norman  B.  Judd,  a  warm 
personal  friend  from  Chicago,  sent  for  me  to  come  to 
his  room  (at  the  Continental  Hotel,  Philadelphia,  Febru- 
ary 21).  I  went,  and  found  there  Mr.  Allan  Pinkerton, 
a  skillful  police  detective,  also  from  Chicago,  who  had 
been  employed  for  some  days  in  Baltimore,  watching  or 
searching  for  suspicious  persons  there.  Pinkerton  in- 
formed me  that  a  plan  had  been  laid  for  my  assassina- 
tion, the  exact  time  when  I  expected  to  go  through 
Baltimore  being  publicly  known.  He  was  well  informed 
as  to  the  plan,  but  did  not  know  the  conspirators  would 
have  pluck  enough  to  execute  it.  He  urged  me  to  go 
right  through  with  him  to  Washington  that  night.  I 
didn't  like  that.  I  had  made  engagements  to  visit  Har- 
risburg,  and  to  go  from  there  to  Baltimore,  and  I  resolved 
to  do  so.  I  could  not  believe  that  there  was  a  plot  to 
murder  me.  I  made  arrangements,  however,  with  Mr. 
Judd  for  my  return  to  Philadelphia  the  next  night,  if 
I  should  be  convinced  that  there  was  danger  in  going 
through  Baltimore.  I  told  him  that  if  I  should  meet 
at  Harrisburg,  as  I  had  at  other  places,  a  delegation  to 
go  with  me  to  the  next  place  [Baltimore],  I  should  feel 
safe,  and  go  on. 


214         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

"  When  I  was  making  my  way  back  to  my  room 
through  crowds  of  people,  I  met  Frederick  Seward.  We 
went  together  to  my  room,  when  he  told  me  that  he  had 
been  sent,  at  the  instance  of  his  father  and  General  Scott, 
to  inform  me  that  their  detectives  in  Baltimore  had  dis- 
covered a  plot  there  to  assassinate  me.  They  knew  noth- 
ing of  Mr.  Pinkerton's  movements.  I  now  believe  such 
a  plot  to  be  in  existence." 

Mr.  Pinkerton  was  engaged  in  the  service  of  the 
Philadelphia,  Wilmington  &  Baltimore  Railroad  in 
February,  1861,  to  discover  the  plot  and  plans  of  those 
persons  contemplating  the  destruction  of  any  portion  of 
this  great  link  between  New  York  and  the  capital  at 
Washington.  While  in  Baltimore  with  his  corps  of  de- 
tectives he  acquired  the  knowledge  that  a  plot  was  in 
existence  for  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  on  his  pas- 
sage through  Baltimore  to  Washington  to  be  inaugu- 
rated as  President. 

It  was  the  advice  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  that  he 
should  go  to  Washington  from  Philadelphia  on  the 
night  of  the  2ist,  and,  when  it  was  suggested  to  him, 
he  said :  "  I  cannot  go  to-night.  I  have  promised  to 
raise  the  flag  over  Independence  Hall  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, and  to  visit  the  legislature  at  Harrisburg.  Beyond 
that  I  have  no  engagements.  Any  plan  that  may  be 
adopted  that  will  enable  me  to  fulfill  these  two  promises 
I  will  carry  out,  and  you  can  tell  me  what  is  concluded 
upon  to-morrow." 

He  did  carry  out  his  two  promises,  and  on  the  morning 
of  February  22  he  raised  a  new  flag  over  Independence 
Hall,  and  then  proceeded  to  Harrisburg. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  in  company  with  Mr.  Ward  H.  Lamon 
and  several  officials  of  the  railroad,  left  Harrisburg  be- 
tween 5  and  6  p.  M.,  February  22,  on  the  return  trip 


THE   CONSPIRACY    AND   THE   CONSPIRATORS.      21$ 

to  Philadelphia.  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  train  con- 
sisted of  a  locomotive  and  one  passenger  car.  The  lamps 
of  the  car  were  not  lighted,  and  the  train  reached  West 
Philadelphia  between  ten  and  eleven,  where  a  carriage 
was  in  waiting  to  convey  the  President  to  the  depot  of 
the  Philadelphia,  Wilmington  &  Baltimore  Railroad. 
Mr.  Lincoln  wore  a  light  felt  hat,  and  had  a  gentleman's 
shawl  thrown  over  his  shoulders.*  He  entered  the  sleep- 
ing car,  and  the  train  left  at  10.55,  reaching  Washington 
the  following  morning. 

Mr.  John  W.  Nichols,  a  member  of  Company  K, 
io5th  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  gives  an  interesting  in- 
cident that  happened  in  August,  1864.  He  was  stationed 
about  the  middle  of  that  month  as  a  sentinel  at  the  large 
gate  to  the  Soldiers'  Home  grounds.  The  President  and 
his  family  spent  the  summer  months  there.  About  eleven 
o'clock  he  heard  a  rifle-shot,  and  shortly  afterward  Mr. 
Lincoln  dashed  up  to  the  gate  on  horseback,  bare- 
headed, and  as  he  dismounted  he  said,  referring  to  the 
horse:  "  He  came  pretty  near  getting  away  with  me, 
didn't  he?  He  got  the  bit  in  his  teeth  before  I  could 
draw  the  rein."  Mr.  Nichols  asked  him  where  his  hat 
was,  and  he  replied  that  someone  had  fired  a  gun  off 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  that  his  horse  had  become 
scared  and  jerked  his  hat  off.  A  corporal  accompanied 
Mr.  Nichols  down  the  hill  and  found  the  President's  hat, 
returning  it  to  him  the  next  morning.  Mr.  Lincoln  re- 
marked rather  unconcernedly  that  it  was  some  foolish 
gunner,  and  requested  that  the  matter  be  kept  quiet. 
Mr.  Nichols  felt  confident  that  it  was  an  attempt  to  kill 
him. 

Previous  to  the  second  inauguration  of  Lincoln  ru- 
mors were  in  circulation  that  he  would  never  be  inaug- 
*  Heavy  shawls  were  worn  at  that  time  by  many  men. 


2l6         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

urated.  Not  much  attention  was  paid  to  these  threats, 
except  that  more  vigilance  was  exercised  by  the  police 
authorities  of  the  capital  for  the  better  protection  of  the 
person  of  the  President.  Great  throngs  had  assembled 
in  Washington  to  witness  the  imposing -ceremonies  at- 
tending the  second  inauguration.  A  tragedy  was  planned 
for  this  occasion,  and  the  man  to  perform  it  was  John 
Wilkes  Booth,  proofs  of  which  are  given  in  a  dozen  or 
more  affidavits  which  form  a  part  of  the  "  Oldroyd  Lin- 
coln Memorial  Collection." 

When  the  Presidential  procession  was  formed  in  the 
Senate  chamber,  the  line  of  march  through  the  rotunda 
to  the  portico,  where  the  inaugural  ceremonies  were  to 
occur,  was  flanked  by  the  members  of  the  Capitol  police 
to  prevent  confusion  during  the  ceremonies.  A  large 
number  of  persons  had  gained  access  to  the  rotunda,  but 
were  prevented  by  the  police  from  joining  the  procession 
or  reaching  the  outer  door.  One  man  (subsequently 
learned  to  be  John  Wilkes  Booth),  however,  persisted 
in  forcing  his  way  through  the  ranks  against  the  earnest 
endeavors  of  John  W.  Westfall,  one  of  the  policemen 
on  guard  here,  who,  grasping  the  man,  called  for  as- 
sistance, at  the  same  time  shouting  to  the  doorkeeper, 
"  Shut  that  door!  "  This  was  at  once  done,  and  the  pro- 
cession stopped  until  the  officers,  after  a  severe  struggle, 
overcame  the  intruder,  and  placed  him  in  custody  below 
stairs  in  the  guardroom,  from  whence  he  was  released 
after  the  ceremonies  of  the  day  were  over.  It  is  amazing 
that  any  human  being  could  have  seriously  entertained 
the  thought  of  assassinating  the  President  in  the  presence 
of  such  a  vast  assembly.  Booth  was  so  frenzied  over  the 
repeated  failures  of  his  abduction  schemes  that  he  de- 
termined to  take  the  President's  life  at  the  almost  cer- 
tain sacrifice  of  his  own,  for,  had  he  been  successful,  the 


THE   CONSPIRACY  AND   THE   CONSPIRATORS.      2I/ 

infuriated  people  would  have  instantly  avenged  the  death 
of  Lincoln  by  a  summary  and  instantaneous  visitation  of 
angry  judgment.  By  the  brave  act  of  Mr.  Westfall  the 
President's  life  was  probably  saved,  and  he  was  per- 
mitted to  see  the  close  of  the  war  and  dawn  of  peace. 
The  persons  who  stopped  Booth  on  that  day  were  not 
aware  who  the  persistent  intruder  was,  and  nothing  more 
was  thought  of  the  matter  until  after  the  assassination, 
when  a  photograph  of  Booth  was  shown  the  Capitol 
police,  and  it  was  at  once  recognized  by  Mr.  Westfall  and 
others  of  the  force  who  were  engaged  in  the  melee  as  that 
of  the  man  who  had  forced  his  way  through  their  ranks 
on  the  day  of  the  inauguration. 

The  Hon.  B.  B.  French,  then  Commissioner  of  Public 
Buildings  and  Grounds,  called  the  attention  of  Acting 
Vice-President  Foster  and  Speaker  Colfax  to  Westfall's 
great  public  service,  and  they  immediately  authorized 
the  creation  of  the  office  of  Lieutenant  of  Police,  that 
he  might  be  the  honored  incumbent  of  the  place  and 
enjoy  the  comfort  which  the  increased  salary  would 
confer.  Did  this  faithful  man  enjoy  the  emoluments  of 
his  office  during  his  life?  No.  The  captain  of  the  Capi- 
tol Police  was  informed  on  the  I5th  of  February,  1876 — 
ten  years  after  Mr.  Westfall's  commission  was  signed — 
that,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Senate 
and  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  the  Architect  of  the  Capitol,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  term  of  service  of  J.  W.  Westfall,  lieutenant,  should 
expire  on  the  ist  day  of  March,  1876.  This  faithful 
servant  was  discharged,  and,  being  too  modest  and  self- 
respecting  to  complain,  spent  his  declining  years  as  a 
watchman  in  the  National  Museum,  at  a  salary  of  fifty 
dollars  per  month. 

On  one  occasion  General  Lafayette  C.  Baker,  chief  of 


2l8         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

the  National  Detective  Police,  carried  to  Mr.  Lincoln  two 
anonymous  communications,  in  which  he  was  threatened 
with  assassination.  In  a  laughing,  joking  manner  the 
President  remarked,  "  Well,  Mr.  Baker,  what  do  they 
want  to  kill  me  for?  If  they  kill  me,  they  will  run  the 
risk  of  getting  a  worse  man." 

ONE   MILLION  DOLLARS  WANTED,  TO  HAVE  PEACE 
BY  THE    FIRST   OF   MARCH. 

If  the  citizens  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  will  furnish  me 
with  the  cash,  or  good  securities  for  the  same,  One  Million 
Dollars,  I  will  cause  the  lives  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  Wm.  H. 
Sevvard,  and  Andrew  Johnson  to  be  taken  by  the  ist  of  March 
next.  This  will  give  us  peace,  and  satisfy  the  world  that  cruel 
tyrants  cannot  live  in  a  land  of  liberty.  If  this  is  not  accom- 
plished, nothing  will  be  claimed  beyond  the  sum  of  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  in  advance,  which  is  supposed  to  be  necessary  to 
reach  and  slaughter  the  villains.  I  will  give,  myself,  one  thou- 
sand dollars  toward  this  patriotic  purpose.  Everyone  wishing 
to  contribute  will  address  Box  X,  Cahawba,  Alabama 

December  i,  1864. 

The  above  advertisement  was  published  in  the  Selma 
(Ala.)  Dispatch  four  or  five  times,  and,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  John  Cantlin,  who  was  foreman  of  the 
paper  at  the  time,  the  author  of  the  manuscript  was  a 
Mr.  G.  W.  Gayle  of  Cahawba,  Ala. 

While  at  Andersonville  some  of  the  Northern  pris- 
oners heard  the  officers  of  the  prison  who  were  in  charge 
say  that  if  Mr.  Lincoln  was  re-elected  he  would  not  live 
to  be  inaugurated.  They  said  that  a  party  at  the  North 
would  attend  to  the  matter. 

Mr.  Richard  Montgomery  gave  some  damaging  testi- 
mony on  the  trial,  implicating  a  number  of  Confederates 
in  Canada.  He  visited  Canada  during  the  summer  of 
1864,  remaining  there  the  greater  part  of  the  time  until 


THE  CONSPIRACY  AND  THE  CONSPIRATORS.      2IQ 

the  ist  of  April,  1865.  He  personally  knew  George  N. 
Sanders,  Jacob  Thompson,  Clement  C.  Clay,  Professor 
Holcomb,  Beverly  Tucker,  and  W.  C.  Cleary,  and  fre- 
quently met  them.  In  a  conversation  with  Jacob  Thomp- 
son in  the  summer  of  1864,  the  latter  said  he  had 
friends  (Confederates)  all  over  the  Northern  States,  who 
were  ready  and  willing  to  go  any  length  to  serve  the 
cause  of  the  South;  that  he  could  at  any  time  have  the 
tyrant  Lincoln,  and  any  of  his  advisers  that  he  chose, 
put  out  of  his  way — and  not  consider  it  a  crime  when 
done  for  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy.  Mr.  Mont- 
gomery repeated  this  conversation  to  Mr.  Clay,  and  he 
said,  "That  is  so;  we  are  all  devoted  to  our  cause,  and 
ready  to  go  any  length — to  do  anything  under  the  sun 
to  serve  our  cause."  In  January,  1865,  he  again  met 
Jacob  Thompson  in  Montreal  several  times,  and  in  one 
of  the  conversations  Thompson  said  that  a  proposition 
had  been  made  to  him  to  rid  the  world  of  the  tyrants 
Lincoln,  Stanton,  Grant,  and  some  others.  The  men 
who  had  made  the  proposition  he  said  he  knew  were  bold, 
daring  men,  and  able  to  execute  anything  they  would 
undertake,  without  regard  to  the  cost.  He  said  he  was 
in  favor  of  the  proposition,  but  had  determined  to  defer 
his  answer  until  he  consulted  with  his  Government  at 
Richmond,  and  he  was  then  only  waiting  its  approval. 
He  added  that  he  thought  it  would  be  a  blessing  to  the 
people,  both  North  and  South,  to  have  these  men  killed. 
Mr.  Montgomery  met  Payne  on  several  occasions  at 
Niagara  Falls  and  in  Canada.  Once,  in  conversation 
with  Mr.  Clay,  Payne  hesitated  in  telling  Montgomery 
who  he  was,  but  finally  said  that  he  was  a  Canadian. 
Montgomery  afterward  asked  Clay  who  this  man  Payne 
was,  and  Clay  asked:  "What  did  he  say?"  When  told 
that  he  said  he  was  a  Canadian,  Clay  laughed  and  said: 


220         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

"That  is  so;  he  is  a  Canadian."  And  he  added,  "  We 
trust  him." 

Montgomery  was  in  Canada  when  arrangements  were 
made  to  fire  the  city  of  New  York.  He  immediately  left 
Canada  and  carried  the  news  to  Washington,  as  he  did 
of  the  intended  raids  upon  Buffalo  and  Rochester,  and 
by  this  means  prevented  these  several  disasters.  He  also 
knew  of  the  St.  Albans  raid,  but  not  the  precise  point 
aimed  at.  Every  move  received  the  direct  indorsement 
of  Clement  C.  Clay.  The  raid  on  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  was 
made  by  about  twenty-five  Confederate  soldiers,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1864.  They  were  nearly  all  of  them  escaped  pris- 
oners, led  by  Lieutenant  Bennett  H.  Young,  a  Confed- 
erate. While  their  attempt  to  burn  the  town  was  a 
failure,  they  succeeded  in  robbing  three  banks  to  the 
amount,  in  the  aggregate,  of  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. They  were  arrested  in  Canada  by  United  States 
forces,  but  the  sympathies  of  nine-tenths  of  the  Canadians 
were  with  Young  and  his  men,  and  the  Canadian  Gov- 
ernment refused  extradition. 

In  a  conversation  that  Montgomery  had  with  W.  C. 
Cleary,  who  was  a  sort  of  confidential  secretary  to  Mr. 
Thompson,  he  said  that  Booth  had  been  there  visiting 
Thompson  twice  in  the  winter;  he  thought  the  last  time 
was  in  December.  When  Thompson  spoke  to  Mont- 
gomery in  January,  1865,  of  the  assassination,  he  said 
he  was  in  favor  of  the  proposition  that  had  been  made 
to  him  to  put  the  President,  Mr.  Stanton,  General  Grant, 
and  others  out  of  the  way;  but  had  deferred  giving  his 
answer,  as  stated  above,  until  he  had  consulted  with  and 
obtained  the  approval  of  his  Government  at  Richmond. 
Montgomery  did  not  know,  of  his  own  knowledge,  that 
an  answer  had  been  returned,  but  his  impression  was, 
from  the  remarks  of  Beverly  Tucker,  that  an  answer  and 


THE   CONSPIRACY   AND   THE   CONSPIRATORS.      221 

approval  had  been  received.  During  Montgomery's 
stay  in  Canada  he  was  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  Government,  seeking  to  acquire  information  in 
regard  to  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  rebels  who 
were  assembled  there.  He  adopted  the  name  of  James 
Thompson,  and,  leading  the  Confederates  to  suppose 
this  was  his  correct  name,  he  made  use  of  another 
name  at  the  hotel  at  which  he  might  be  stopping.  He 
was  intrusted  with  dispatches  from  the  Confederates 
in  Canada  to  take  to  Richmond,  and  carried  back  the 
replies  to  Canada,  taking  them  both  ways  through  Wash- 
ington, and  making  them  known  to  the  United  States 
Government.  These  Confederates  in  Canada  repre- 
sented themselves  as  being  in  the  service  of  the  Con- 
federate Government,  and  Montgomery  frequently  heard 
the  subject  of  raids  upon  our  frontier  and  the  burning 
of  cities  spoken  of  by  Thompson,  Clay,  Cleary,  Tucker, 
and  Sanders.  Clay  and  Thompson  represented  them- 
selves as  acting  under  the  sanction  of  their  Government, 
and  as  having  full  power  from  it  to  do  anything  that  they 
deemed  expedient  for  the  benefit  of  their  cause.  Mr. 
Clay,  in  speaking  about  the  necessary  funds  for  these 
raids,  said  he  always  had  plenty  of  money  to  pay  for  any- 
thing that  was  worth  paying  for. 

During  the  trial  strong  evidence  against  Jefferson 
Davis  and  the  agents  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  was 
presented.  One  of  the  principal  witnesses  was  Sanford 
Conover,  who  represented  himself  as  a  native  of  New 
York,  but  resided  in  South  Carolina  when  the  Rebellion 
broke  out.  He  was  conscripted  into  the  Southern  army, 
but  was  detailed  as  a  clerk  in  the  War  Office  at  Rich- 
mond. Here  he  remained  for  six  months,  when  he  "  ran 
the  blockade,"  by  walking  out  of  Richmond  and  much 
of  the  way  through  Virginia  to  the  North,  where  he  went 


222         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

to  Canada.  His  testimony,  and  that  of  Richard  Mont- 
gomery, clearly  shows  that  all  parties  named  were  en- 
gaged, not  only  in  plots  to  murder,  but  also  to  burn 
various  cities  of  the  North,  destroy  the  Croton  water- 
works at  New  York,  and  introduce  yellow  fever  into 
the  country  by  means  of  infected  clothing  brought 
from  Nassau.  All  of  the  above  swore  positively  that 
the  assassination  was  a  matter  of  common  conversation, 
and  that  they  knew  Booth  and  Payne  to  be  on  intimate 
terms  with  the  rebel  agents.  Much  incidental  testimony 
bearing  upon  the  subject  was  introduced  during  the  trial. 
In  the  testimony  of  Conover,  Montgomery,  and  Merritt 
it  was  clearly  shown  that  Thompson,  Sanders,  and  Clay 
made  their  boasts  that  they  had  money  in  Canada  for 
the  purpose  of  aiding  the  abducting  or  assassination  of 
President  Lincoln.  The  officers  of  the  Ontario  Bank  of 
Montreal  testified  that  during  the  year  of  the  assassina- 
tion Jacob  Thompson  had  on  deposit  in  that  bank  the 
sum  of  $649,000,  and  that  this  deposit  to  his  credit  was 
from  the  negotiation  of  bills  of  exchange  drawn  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  Confederate  States  on 
Frazier,  Trenholm  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool,  England,  who 
were  known  to  be  the  financial  agents  of  the  Confederate 
States.  When  Booth  was  shot  in  Garrett's  barn,  upon 
his  person  was  found  the  following  bills  of  exchange: 

No.  1492. 

THE  ONTARIO  BANK,  MONTREAL  BRANCH. 

MONTREAL,  27th  October,  1864. 
Exchange  for  £61  I2S.  tod. 

Sixty  days  after  sight  of  this  first  exchange,  second  and  third 
of  the  same  tenor  and  date,  pay  to  the  order  of  J.  Wilkes  Booth 
£di  i2S.  lod.  sterling,  value  received,  and  charge  to  the  account 
of  this  office. 

H.  STANUS,  Manager. 
To  Messrs.  GLYNN,  MILLS  &  Co.,  London. 


THE  CONSPIRACY  AND  THE  CONSPIRATORS.      223 

After  the  surrender  of  Lee's  army  Thompson  and 
Sanders  in  Canada  sent  a  communication  to  Washington, 
asking  leave  to  pass  through  the  States.  The  Secretary 
of  War  seriously  opposed  granting  their  request,  but 
Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  said:  "  Let  us 
close  our  eyes,  and  let  them  pass  unnoticed." 


CHAPTER   XII. 

JOHN     H.     SURRATT,     HIS    FLIGHT,    ARREST,    TRIAL,    AND 
ACQUITTAL. 

As  has  been  stated  in  a  previous  chapter,  John  H. 
Surratt,  in  obedience  to  the  wishes  of  his  mother,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  left  Washington  the  latter  part  of  the  day 
of  April  14,  1865. 

The  name  John  Harrison  was  entered  upon  the 
register  at  St.  Lawrence  Hall,  Montreal,  Canada,  12.30 
p.  M.,  the  i8th  day  of  April,  1865.  That  name  was 
written  by  John  H.  Surratt.  He  did  not  eat  or  sleep 
here,  but  immediately  went  to  the  house  of  a  man 
named  Porterfield,  where  he  remained  for  a  few  days  in 
concealment.  Mr.  Porterfield  was  'a  Southern  gentle- 
man, but  became  a  British  subject.  He  was  for  some 
time  a  banker  or  broker  for  the  Ontario  Bank  in  Canada, 
and  was,  it  is  said,  the  agent  who  took  charge  of  the 
money  plundered  during  the  St.  Albans  raid. 

Rev.  Charles  Boucher,  a  Catholic  priest  of  the^  parish 
of  St.  Liboire,  about  forty  miles  from  Montreal,  testified 
that  John  H.  Surratt  came  to  his  house  in  a  cart  between 
nine  and  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  22d  of  April,  in 
company  with  Joseph  T.  Du  Tilly,  and  remained  in  his 
house  about  three  months. 

St.  Liboire  was  at  that  time  a  new  village  and  thinly 
settled,  and  a  very  appropriate  hiding  place  for  a  crim- 
inal. Mr.  Boucher  said  that  he  had  been  notified  that  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Charles  Armstrong  was  coming  to 

224 


JOHN   H.   SURRATT. 


225 


his  house  on  account  of  his  health,  and  because  of  being 
compromised  in  the  American  war.  About  twelve  days 
after  Armstrong's  arrival,  so  the  reverend  gentleman 


JOHN  H.  SURRATT. 

Implicated  in  the  attempt  to  kidnap  President  Lincoln,  escaped  from 
Washington,  went  abroad,  and  joined  the  Papal  Zouaves ;  was  recognized, 
arrested,  and  brought  to  Washington,  and  held  for  trial,  but  the  jury  disa- 
greeing he  went  free. 

said,  he  made  himself  known  to  his  hostess  as  John  H. 
Surratt.  During  his  concealment  he  frequently  went 
hunting,  either  alone  or  in  company  with  others.  The 
latter  part  of  July  Mr.  Boucher  took  him  secretly 
to  Father  Lapierre,  a  Catholic  priest,  who  kept  him  in 
his  own  father's  house  for  some  time,  after  which  La- 


226         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

pierre  and  Boucher  accompanied  Surratt  in  a  carriage  to 
the  steamer  Montreal  for  Quebec.  Father  Lapierre 
kept  Surratt  under  lock  and  key  during  the  voyage 
from  Montreal  to  Quebec,  and  at  Quebec  he  accom- 
panied the  disguised  Surratt  from  the  Montreal  steamer 
to  the  ocean  steamer  Peruvian,  bound  for  Liverpool, 
which  sailed  September  15.  Father  Lapierre  then  in- 
troduced Surratt  to  Dr.  McMillan,  the  physician  of 
the  steamer,  as  McCarty.  Surratt  wore  spectacles 
and  had  his  hair  dyed.  After  the  steamer  started 
for  the  Old  World  Surratt  appeared  startled  at  the 
appearance  of  a  certain  man  on  board,  and,  turning 
around,  said  to  McMillan:  "That  man  is  an  American 
detective;  he  is  after  me."  He  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket 
and  drew  out  his  revolver,  remarking:  "  But  this  will 
fix  him."  McMillan  inquired:  "  Why  do  you  think  this 
gentleman  to  whom  you  refer  is  an  American  detective; 
and  if  so,  why  do  you  care?"  Said  he:  "I  have  done 
such  things  that,  if  you  should  know  them,  it  would  make 
you  stare."  The  supposed  detective  turned  out  to  be  a 
lumber  merchant  from  Toronto.  There  was  a  terrible 
burden  weighing  upon  Surratt's  heart,  and  there  is  no 
wonder  that  when  he  got  out  on  the  ocean,  with  only  one 
man  on  board  that  he  knew,  that  he  unburdened  his  heavy 
conscience,  as  criminals  often  do.  When  the  steamer  ap- 
proached Ireland,  he  hesitated  whether  he  should  land  on 
the  Irish  coast  or  whether  he  should  wait  until,  he  got  to 
Liverpool ;  and  he  consulted  Dr.  McMillan  as  to  which  he 
had  better  do.  Said  Dr.  McMillan,  "  I  cannot  tell  you 
which  you  had  better  do;  you  can  do  just  as  you  please." 
He  replied:  "  I  will  go  to  Liverpool."  Finally,  as  they 
neared  the  coast  of  Ireland,  while  coming  into  the  'bay, 
McMillan  found  him  unexpectedly  upon  the  deck,  fully 
clad  and  a  little  satchel  in  his  hand,  ready  to  depart.  He 


JOHN   H.    SURRATT.  22/ 

said:  "  I  have  changed  my  mind.  It  is  now  night,  and 
dark,  and  I  have  concluded  I  will  land  here  in  Ireland." 

On  September  27  A.  Wilding,  vice-consul  at  Liver- 
pool, cabled  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  to 
the  effect  that  John  H.  Surratt  was  either  in  Liverpool 
or  expected  there  within  a  day  or  two.  He  again  cabled 
on  the  3oth  that  Surratt  had  arrived  in  Liverpool  on  the 
25th,  and  was  staying  at  the  oratory  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross.  Americans  of  the 
Catholic  faith  had  frequently  lodged  at  the  same  oratory 
while  visiting  Liverpool,  and  the  vice-consul  believed 
that  Surratt  was  really  there. 

All  this  information  was  given  by  the  man  whom  Sur- 
ratt made  a  confidant  of  on  the  voyage,  who  felt  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  give  the  information,  that  the  fugitive 
might  be  arrested.  Surratt  manifested  no  signs  of  peni- 
tence, but  justified  his  actions,  and  was  bold  and  defiant 
when  speaking  of  the  assassination.  Surratt  said  that  he 
was  obliged  to  remain  in  Liverpool  until  he  could  receive 
money  from  Montreal,  stating  that  he  had  been  in 
the  employ  of  the  Confederate  Government,  engaged 
in  conveying  intelligence  between  Washington  and 
Richmond,  and  told  his  confidant  that  he  had  been 
concerned  in  a  plan  for  carrying  off  President  Lin- 
coln from  Washington,  which  was  concocted  entirely 
by  J.  Wilkes  Booth  and  himself;  that  he  went  to 
Canada  just  before  the  assassination  of  President  Lin- 
coln took  place;  that  while  in  Canada  he  received 
a  letter  from  Booth,  saying  that  it  had  become  neces- 
sary to  change  their  plans,  and  requested  him  to 
come  to  Washington  immediately;  that  he  did  start  im- 
mediately, but  did  not  state  to  what  part  of  the  terrible  af- 
fair he  had  been  assigned.  On  his  return  to  Canada,  and 
while  sitting  at  breakfast  at  St.  Albans,  a  gentleman  next 


228         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

to  him  spoke  of  the  report  of  the  assassination,  and  that 
he  was  surprised  to  see  his  name  in  the  paper.  Surratt 
being  in  Liverpool  on  the  26th,  according  to  the  evi- 
dence given  by  the  person  who  accompanied  him  from 
Canada,  and  sworn  to  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  for 
the  borough  of  Liverpool  on  the  26th,  ought  to  have 
been,  in  my  opinion,  sufficient  grounds  for  his  arrest; 
but  it  was  not  made.  On  October  13  W.  Hunter,  Acting 
Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  cabled  the  vice-consul 
at  Liverpool: 

I  have  to  inform  you,  that,  upon  a  consultation  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  and  Judge-Advocate-General,  it  is  thought  advisable 
that  no  action  be  taken  in  regard  to  the  arrest  of  the  supposed 
John  Surratt  at  present. 

Surratt  waited  in  Liverpool  for  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer  Nova  Scotian,  which  sailed  from  Montreal  Sat- 
urday, October  31,  and  on  which  he  expected  to  receive 
money  from  parties  in  Montreal.  At  that  time  it  was 
known  in  Montreal  that  it  was  Surratt's  intention  to  go  to 
Rome,  and  he  did  go,  and  upon  his  arrival  there  enlisted 
in  the  Papal  Zouaves  under  the  name  of  John  Watson. 
When  his  company,  No.  3,  was  stationed  at  Sezze,  a 
friend  who  had  known  Surratt  in  America  recognized 
him  as  soon  as  he  saw  him.  He  approached  him,  calling 
him  by  his  proper  name,  and  at  that  Surratt,  taking  him 
aside,  admitted  that  he  was  right  in  the  guess.  Sur- 
ratt acknowledged  his  participation  in  the  plot  against 
Mr.  Lincoln's  life,  and  declared  that  Jefferson  Davis 
had  incited,  or  was  privy,  to  it.  Surratt  seemed  to 
be  well  provided  with  money,  and  appealed  to  his  ac- 
quaintance not  to  betray  his  secret.  This  friend  was 
Henri  Beaumont  Ste.  Marie,  whom  Weichmann  intro- 
duced to  John  H.  Surratt  while  on  a  visit  to  their  old 
college  in  Maryland,  April,  1863. 


JOHN  H.   SURRATT.  2 29 

Ste.  Marie,  also  serving  under  the  Papal  colors,  com- 
municated the  intelligence  that  John  H.  Surratt  was  a 
member  of  the  Papal  Zouaves,  and  was  stationed  at 
Sezze,  to  Rufus  King,  minister  resident  at  Rome,  and 
the  usual  long  delay  of  correspondence  took  place  be- 
tween the  minister  and  the  authorities  at  Washington. 
On  June  21,  1866,  this  important  witness  made  a  written 
statement  as  to  his  acquaintance  with  Surratt.  He  was 
a  Canadian,  but  was  living  in  America  when  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion  broke  out.  He  was  engaged  as  teacher  in 
a  small  village  in  Maryland,  called  Ellengowan."  He 
joined  the  Northern  army  as  a  substitute,  and  was  soon 
afterward  captured  by  the  Confederates  and  taken  to 
Castle  Thunder,  Richmond,  but  was  early  released 
on  account  of  having  given  some  information  rela- 
tive to  a  plot  of  forgers  that  was  being  formed  in  the 
prison.  He  went  to  England  on  board  a  vessel  loaded 
with  cotton,  on  account  of  the  Confederacy.  Returning 
to  Canada,  he  remained  there  until  he  went  abroad,  and 
recognized  Surratt  in  Italy.  He  first  met  Surratt  here 
at  a  small  town  called  Velletri.  Surratt  told  Ste. 
Marie  when  he  first  met  him  in  Maryland  that  President 
Lincoln  would  certainly  pay  for  all  the  men  that  were 
slain  during  the  war.  In  Italy  Surratt  said  to  him:  "  We 
have  killed  Lincoln,  the  nigger's  friend."  In  speaking  of 
his  mother,  Surratt  said:  "  Had  it  not  been  for  me  and 
Weichmann,  my  mother  would  be  living  yet."  Speaking 
of  the  murder,  he  said  the  conspirators  had  acted  under 
orders  of  men  who  are  not  yet  known.  He  said  when  he 
left  Canada  he  had  but  little  money,  but  carried  a  letter 
for  a  party  in  London.  Surratt  was  asked  whether  he 
knew  Jefferson  Davis.  He  said,  No,  but  that  he  acted 
under  the  instructions  of  persons  under  Davis'  immedi- 
ate orders. 


230         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Early  in  November,  1866,  General  Rufus  King  went 
to  Cardinal  Antonelli  and  told  him  who  Surratt  was, 
asking  him  whether,  upon  the  authentic  indictment  or 
the  usual  preliminary  proof,  and  at  the  request  of  the 
State  Department  at  Washington,  he  would  be  willing  to 
deliver  up  John  H.  Surratt.  Antonelli  frankly  replied 
in  the  affirmative,  and  added  that  there  was,  indeed,  no 
extradition  treaty  between  the  two  countries,  and  that 
to  surrender  a  criminal  where  capital  punishment  was 
likely  to  ensue  was  not  exactly  in  accordance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Papal  Government,  but  that  in  so  grave 
and  exceptional  a  case,  and  with  the  understanding  that 
the  United  States  Government  under  parallel  circum- 
stances would  do  as  they  desired  to  be  done  by,  a  de- 
parture would  be  made  from  the  practice  generally  fol- 
lowed. General  King  requested,  as  a  favor  to  the  Amer- 
ican Government,  that  Surratt  should  not  be  discharged 
from  the  Papal  service  until  further  communication  from 
the  State  Department,  and  His  Eminence  promised  to 
advise  with  the  minister  of  war  to  that  effect. 

The  cardinal  went  with  the  information  to  the  Pope 
on  the  Qth  of  November.  General  King  again  called 
upon  the  cardinal,  and  was  by  him  informed  that  John 
Watson,  alias  John  H.  Surratt,  had  been  arrested  by 
his  orders,  and  while  on  the  way  to  Rome  had  made 
his  escape  from  the  guard  of  six  men  in  whose  charge 
he  had  been  placed.  The  following  is  the  order  for  his 

arrest : 

NOVEMBER  6,  1866. 

COLONEL:  Cause  the  arrest  of  the  Zouave  Watson,  and  have 
him  conducted,  under  secure  escort,  to  the  military  prison  at 
Rome.  It  is  of  much  importance  that  this  order  be  executed 

with  exactness.  The  General,  pro-minister, 

KANZLEI 

Lieutenant- Colonel  ALLET, 
Commanding  Zouave  Battalion,  Velletri. 


JOHN   H.   SURRATT.  23! 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Allet  telegraphed  as  follows: 

PONTIFICAL  ZOUAVES,  BATTALION  HEADQUARTERS, 

VF.LLETRI,  November  7,  1866. 

GENERAL:  I   have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  Zouave 
John  Watson  has  been  arrested  at   Veroli,   and  will  be  taken 
to-morrow  morning,  under  good  escort,  to  Rome.     While  he  was 
searched  for  at  Trisulti,  which  was  his  garrison,  he  was  arrested 
by  Captain  De  Lambilly,  at  Veroli,  where  he  was  on  leave. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be.  General,  your  Excellency's 
Very  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

LIEUT. -CoL.  ALLET. 
His  Excellency,  the  General-Minister  of  War,  Rome. 

PONTIFICAL  TELEGRAPH. 

VELLETRI,  8.35  A.  M.,  November  8,  1866. 
His  EXCELLENCY,  THE  G'ENERAL-MINISTER  OF  WAR,  ROME: 

I  received  the  following  telegram  from  Captain  Lambilly:  At 
the  moment  of  leaving  the  prison,  surrounded  by  six  men  as 
guards,  Watson  plunged  into  the  ravine,  more  than  a  hundred 
feet  deep,  which  defends  the  prison.  Fifty  Zouaves  are  in 
pursuit. 

LIEUT. -COLONEL  ALLET. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  Novem- 
ber a  sergeant  and  six  men  knocked  at  the  gate  of  the 
Velletri  prison,  which  opens  on  a  platform  which-  over- 
looks the  country.  A  balustrade  prevents  promenaders 
from  falling  on  the  rocks,  situated  at  least  thirty-five  feet 
below.  After  leaving  the  gate  of  the  prison  Surratt  made 
a  leap  and  cast  himself  into  the  void,  landing  on  a  ledge 
of  rocks  projecting  from  the  face  of  the  mountain,  where 
he  might  have  been  seriously  injured,  but  gained  the 
depths  of  the  valley.  The  refuse  from  the  barracks  ac- 
cumulated on  the  rock,  and  in  this  manner  his  fall  was 
broken.  Had  he  leaped  a  little  farther  he  would  have 
fallen  into  an  abyss.  Patrols  were  immediately  organ- 
ized, but  in  vain.  He  was  tracked  from  Velletri  to  Sora 


232         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  Naples,  stopping  at  the  latter  place  for  a  few  days, 
when  he  left  on  the  steamer  Tripoli  for  Alexandria, 
Egypt,  under  the  name  of  Walters. 

Surratt  went  to  Naples  on  the  8th  of  November, 
dressed  in  the  uniform  of  the  Papal  Zouaves,  having  no 
passport,  but  stating  that  he  was  an  Englishman  who 
had  escaped  from  a  Roman  regiment.  He  said  that 
he  had  no  money,  and  the  police,  being  somewhat  sus- 
picious of  him,  gave  him  (at  his  own  request)  lodgings 
for  three  days  in  prison.  He  stated  that  he  had  been 
in  Rome  two  months;  that  being  out  of  money  he  en- 
listed in  the  Roman  Zouaves,  and  was  put  in  prison  for 
insubordination,  from  whence  he  had  escaped  by  jump- 
ing from  a  high  wall,  in  doing  which  he  hurt  his  back  and 
arm.  On  the  third  day  he  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  Brit- 
ish consulate,  to  which  place  one  of  the  police  went  with 
him.  Here  he  complained  of  his  confinement,  stating 
that  he  was  a  Canadian,  and  the  consul  claimed  his  re- 
lease as  an  English  subject. 

In  the  meantime  the  police  had  found  that  he  had 
twelve  scudi  with  him,  and,  on  asking  him  why  he  went 
to  prison,  he  replied  that  he  wished  to  save  his  money. 
He  remained  in  Naples  until  Saturday,  the  i8th,  when, 
through  the  influence  of  the  English  consul,  he  obtained 
passage  on  the  steamer  Tripoli  to  Alexandria,  at  9  o'clock 
p.  M.,  some  English  gentlemen  paying  for  his  board 
during  the  voyage,  and  giving  him  a  few  francs.  The 
United  States  consul  at  Malta,  William  Winthrop,  was 
informed  by  the  consul  at  Naples  of  Surratt's  departure, 
but  he  was  hampered  by  legal  quibbles  and  the  slowness 
of  the  proper  authorities  to  act,  and  Surratt  left  Malta,  in 
the  steamer  which  brought  him,  at  4  P.  M.  on  the  I9th. 

On  board  the  steamer  Tripoli,  while  coaling  at  Malta, 
Surratt  gave  his  name  to  the  superintendent  of  police  as 


JOHN   H.   SURRATT. 


233 


John  Agostina,  a  native  of  Canada.  The  steamer 
reached  Alexandria,  Egypt,  on  the  23d  of  November, 
and  on  the  27th  Charles  Hale,  consul-general  of  the 
United  States  at  that  place,  went  on  board  and  arrested 
Surratt,  who  was  still  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  Zouave. 
Mr.  Hale  found  it  easy  to  distinguish  him  among  the 


JOHN   H.  SURRATT. 

In  the  uniform  of  the  Papal  Zouaves  at  Rome,  Italy.    He  had  it  on  when 
captured  at  Alexandria,  Egypt. 

seventy-eight  of  the  third-class  passengers  by  his  Zouave 
uniform  and  his  almost  unmistakable  American  type  of 
countenance.  Mr.  Hale  at  once  said:  "You  are  an 
American."  Surratt  said:  "Yes,  sir;  I  am."  Mr.  Hale 


234         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

said:  "  You  doubtless  know  why  I  want  you.  What  is 
your  name?"  He  replied  promptly,  "Walters."  Mr.  Hale 
then  said:  "I  believe  your  true  name  is  Surratt,"  and 
in  arresting  him  mentioned  his  official  position  as  United 
States  consul-general.  Surratt  and  the  other  third-class 
passengers  Had  been  in  quarantine  four  days,  but  when 
arrested  the  director  of  quarantine  speedily  arranged  a 
sufficient  escort  of  soldiers,  by  whom  the  prisoner  was 
conducted  to  a  safe  place  within  the  quarantine  walls. 

December  2  the  following  telegram  was  received  at 
Washington : 

To  SEWARD,  Washington. 

Have  arrested  John  Surratt,  one  of  President  Lincoln's  assas- 
sins. No  doubt  of  identity. 

HALE,  Alexandria. 

The  appearance  of  the  prisoner  at  the  time  of  his  ar- 
rest answered  well  the  description  given  of  him  by 
Weichmann  in  Pittman's  report  of  the  trial  of  the  con- 
spirators, and  officially  sent  by  the  Government  to  the 
various  consuls:  "  John  H.  Surratt  is  about  six  feet  high, 
with  very  prominent  forehead,  a  very  large  nose,  and 
sunken  eyes.  He  has  a  goatee,  and  very  long  hair  of 
a  light  color."  On  the  2Qth  Surratt  was  transferred,  un- 
der a  sufficient  guard,  from  the  quarantine  grounds  to 
the  Government  prison. 

On  December  4  Secretary  Seward  telegraphed  Min- 
ister Hale  at  Alexandria,  Egypt,  that  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  had  instructed  Admiral  Goldsborough  to  send 
a  proper  national  armed  vessel  to  Alexandria  to  receive 
from  him  John  H.  Surratt,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
Surratt  remained  in  safe  confinement  until  the  2ist  of 
December,  when  he  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Hale  on  board 
the  corvette  Swatara,  and  taken  to  America,  landing  at 
Washington,  D.  C. 


JOHN   H.    SURRATT.  235 

The  criminal  court  for  the  District  of  Columbia,  before 
which  the  trial  of  John  H.  Surratt  took  place,  was  opened 
at  ten  o'clock,  June  10,  1867,  and  closed  August  u,  last- 
ing sixty-two  days.  There  were  present  the  District  At- 
torney, E.  C.  Carrington,  his  assistant,  N.  Wilson,  and 
associate  counsel,  Messrs.  Edwards  Pierpont  and  A.  G. 
Riddle,  for  the  United  States,  and  the  prisoner  and  his 
counsel,  Messrs.  Joseph  H.  Bradley,  R.  T.  Merrick,  and 
Joseph  R.  Bradley,  Jr. 

During  the  trial  there  was  a  general  impression  that 
Surratt  would  be  able  to  prove  an  alibi,  but  the  testimony 
of  several  witnesses  caused  a  sensation  in  the  court,  dis- 
pelling that  impression.  According  to  Sergeant  Joseph 
M.  Dye's  statement,  he,  with  a  companion,  was  standing 
in  front  of  Ford's  Theater  on  the  night  of  the  assassina- 
tion from  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  President's  car- 
riage until  Booth  stepped  into  the  theater  at  ten  minutes 
past  ten.  Dye's  attention  was  first  called  to  the  low  con- 
versation held  between  two  villainous-looking  persons, 
after  which  they  were  joined  by  a  third  party,  who  was 
neatly  dressed.  The  last  one  to  join  the  trio  stepped  into 
the  lobby  of  the  theater,  and,  when  he  reappeared  on  the 
pavement,  called  the  hour.  This  he  repeated  three 
times  at  different  intervals,  the  third  and  last  being  ten 
minutes  past  ten.  As  he  announced  the  time  he  looked 
at  the  two  men,  and  seemed  to  be  very  much  excited. 
He  then  walked  briskly  up  Tenth  toward  H  Street,  and 
Booth  (for  it  was  he)  went  into  the  theater.  The  third 
party  was  lost  sight  of.  Sergeant  Dye's  suspicions  were 
aroused  at  the  mysterious  actions  of  these  men,  and  he 
had  his  hand  upon  his  revolver  several  times,  not  know- 
ing what  might  happen.  Sergeant  Dye  and  his  com- 
panion went  into  an  adjoining  saloon  and  ordered 
oysters,  but  before  they  were  served  the  report  came  in 


236         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

that  the  President  was  shot.  Dye  immediately  started 
for  his  battery  at  Camp  Barry,  junction  of  H  Street  and 
Bladensburg  Pike.  He  was  first  sergeant,  and  felt  sure 
the  battery  would  be  called  out. 

In  walking  out  H  Street  a  woman  hoisted  a  window 
and  asked  what  was  wrong  downtown,  and  he  told  her 
President  Lincoln  was  shot.  She  asked  who  did  it,  and 
was  told  Wilkes  Booth.  She  then  asked  the  sergeant 
how  he  knew,  and  he  said  a  man  saw  him  do  it.  This 
woman  was  Mrs.  Surratt,  for  Sergeant  Dye  remembered 
the  number  of  the  house,  541  H  Street,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  it,  as  he  had  to  stop  and  converse  with  her.  He 
also  swore  during  the  trial  that  the  man  who  called  the 
hour  was  John  H.  Surratt. 

David  C.  Reed,  a  tailor  at  617  H  Street  N.  W.,  testi- 
fied before  the  Military  Commission  that  he  knew  John 
H.  Surratt  since  he  was  quite  a  boy,  and  that  he  saw 
him  at  half-past  two  o'clock  on  the  day  of  the  murder,  on 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  below  the  National  Hotel,  and 
that  they  recognized  each  other  as  they  passed.  Reed 
noticed  his  fine  new  fitting  suit  of  clothes,  making  him 
look  unusually  genteel. 

Dr.  Cleaver  had  no  sympathy  with  this  Government, 
but  had  a  great  deal  for  John  H.  Surratt.  He  testified 
to  the  court  that  he  had  not  only  met  Surratt  on  H  Street 
during  the  day  of  the  assassination,  but  spoke  to  him. 
He  told  this  in  the  strictest  confidence  to  a  friend,  and 
would  not  have  admitted  it  to  the  court  had  not  this 
friend  told  a  member  of  Congress.  William  E.  Cleaver 
admitted  that  he  wanted  to  shield  Surratt. 

A  barber  by  the  name  of  Charles  H.  M.  Wood,  who 
worked  for  Booker  &  Stewart,  barbers,  on  E  Street, 
near  Grover's  Theater,  testified  that  he  shaved  John  Sur- 
ratt and  dressed  his  hair  between  9  and  10  o'clock  A.  M., 


JOHN   H.   SURRATT.  237 

on  the  I4th;  that  Surratt  was  dusty,  as  if  he  had  just  come 
in  from  a  trip.  Booth  and  O'Laughlin  were  in  the  barber 
shop  at  the  same  time. 

Mr.  John  Lee,  chief  of  the  men  employed  by  Major 
O'Beirne,  the  provost-marshal  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, swore  that  he  saw  John  H.  Surratt  on  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue  on  the  I4th. 

Scipiano  Grillo  was  with  Herold  in  Willard's  Hotel 
on  the  I4th,  looking  for  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  whom 
they  heard  had  arrived.  While  there  Herold  was  en- 
gaged in  conversation  with  a  man,  and  Herold  asked  him 
if  he  was  going  to-night,  and  he  said,  Yes.  Grillo  did 
not  know  the  man,  but  recognized  him  at  the  trial  as 
being  John  H.  Surratt. 

A  colored  girl  who  had  been  a  servant  in  the  Surratt 
family  for  two  weeks  testified  that  when  Mrs.  Surratt 
returned  from  Surrattsville  with  Mr.  Weichmann,  about 
eight  o'clock,  she  carried  supper  to  Mr.  Weichmann. 
Then  Mrs.  Surratt  told  her  to  bring  a  pot  of  tea  to  a 
gentleman.  WThen  it  was  taken  to  Mrs.  Surratt,  she  said: 
"  This  is  my  son."  The  servant  recognized  the  man  at 
the  trial  as  Surratt,  confirming  the  statement  of  the  wit- 
nesses who  swore  to  having  seen  him  at  different  hours 
during  the  day  of  the  assassination,  narrating  minute  cir- 
cumstances, such  as  meeting  him  and  having  conversa- 
tion with  him.  It  does  seem  altogether  probable  that 
Surratt  arrived  in  Washington  on  the  morning  of  the  as- 
sassination and  left  in  the  evening  before  or  after  the 
fatal  shot  was  fired  at  Ford's  Theater.  Surratt  claimed 
that  he  was  in  New  York  on  the  night  of  the  assassina- 
tion, and  his  statement  had  more  weight  with  the  jury 
than  that  of  those  testifying  against  him. 

Over  two  hundred  witnesses  were  examined.  The 
jury  disagreed,  standing  eight  for  acquittal  and  four  for 


238         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

conviction.  Of  the  four  who  were  for  conviction,  none 
were  born  in  the  South;  of  the  eight  for  acquittal,  all 
except  one  were  natives  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  or  the 
District  of  Columbia. 

Surratt  was  kept  in  the  Old  Capitol  Prison  for  some 
months,  but  was  finally  liberated  on  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  bail.  His  counsel  were  General  Merrick  and 
John  G.  Carlisle.  He  was  again  arraigned  for  trial. 
The  prosecution  declined  to  proceed  upon  the  charge 
of  murder  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  proposed  to  try  him  upon 
the  charges  of  conspiracy  and  treason.  But  his  counsel 
showed  that  the  law  in  such  cases  required  that  the  in- 
dictment should  be  found  within  two  years  from  the 
time  of  the  alleged  offense,  unless  the  respondent  was 
a  "  fugitive  from  justice."  More  than  this  time  had  in- 
tervened, and  there  was  no  averment  in  the  indictment 
that  he  was  a  fugitive.  The  court  thereupon  discharged 
him. 

From  a  lecture  delivered  by  John  H.  Surratt  a  few 
years  since,  we  quote  a  little  from  his  story,  which  shows 
the  work  he  did  for  the  Southern  cause,  to  which  he 
was  very  much  devoted: 

"  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  I  was  a  student  at 
St.  Charles  College,  in  Maryland,  but  did  not  remain 
there  long  after  that  important  event.  I  left  in  July, 
1861,  and,  returning  home,  commenced  to  take  an  active 
part  in  the  stirring  events  of  that  period.  I  was  not  more 
than  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  was  mostly  engaged  in 
sending  information  regarding  the  movements  of  the 
United  States  army  stationed  in  Washington  and  else- 
where, and  carrying  dispatches  to  the  Confederate  boats 
on  the  Potomac.  We  had  a  regularly  established  line 
from  Washington  to  the  Potomac,  and  I,  being  the  only 
unmarried  man  on  the  route,  had  most  of  the  hard  riding 


JOHN  H.   SURRATT.  239 

to  do.  I  devised  various  ways  to  carry  the  dispatches — 
sometimes  in  the  heel  of  my  boots;  sometimes  between 
the  planks  of  the  buggy.  I  confess  that  never  in  my  life 
did  I  come  across  a  more  stupid  set  of  detectives  than 
those  generally  employed  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment. They  seemed  to  have  no  idea  whatever  how  to 
search  me.  In  1864  my  family  left  Maryland  and  moved 
to  Washington,  where  I  took  a  still  more  active  part  in 
the  stirring  events  of  that  period.  It  was  a  fascinating 
life  to  me.  It  seemed  as  if  I  could  not  do  too  much  or 
run  too  great  a  risk." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

NARRATIVE    OF    A     WALK     OF    THE    AUTHOR,     MAY,     IQOI, 
OVER    THE    ROUTE    OF    FLIGHT    AND    CAPTURE. 

HAVING  had  for  a  long  time  a  great  desire  to  walk 
over  the  route  which  Booth  took  when  fleeing  from 
Washington  through  Maryland  to  Virginia,  and  to  talk 
with  the  people  who  were  still  living  and  who  aided  the 
assassin  in  that  flight,  I  started,  with  a  combination  walk- 
ing stick  and  umbrella,  and  a  leather  bag  over  my 
shoulder,  from  the  back  door  of  Ford's  Theater  at  four 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  May  12,  1901. 

It  was  a  beautiful  morning,  and  perfect  quiet  pre- 
vailed. For  fear  that  my  clumsy  walking  shoes  might 
make  an  alarming  noise  over  the  alley  cobblestones  and 
raise  some  suspicion  at  that  early  hour,  I  had  previously 
warned  the  night  watchman  of  the  building  that  I  would 
be  at  his  back  door  at  that  time  the  following  morning, 
and  not  to  be  alarmed.  My  departure  was  unnoticed, 
except  by  a  few  cats  that  were  winding  up  their  night's 
carousal.  One  hundred  feet  brought  me  to  the  alley 
leading  out  on  F  Street,  and  the  distance  over  that 
to  the  street  was  150  feet.  It  is  not  known  which 
streets  Booth  rode  through  after  turning  east  on  F 
Street,  until  he  reached  the  hill  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Capitol  Building,  where  he  was  seen  by  a 
man  who  was  going  to  his  work.  My  route  led 
me  along  F  to  Seventh,  down  Seventh  to  the  Avenue, 
down  the  Avenue  to  the  Peace  Monument,  thence 

340 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


NARRATIVE   OF  A  WALK.  243 

through  the  southern  portion  of  the  Capitol  Grounds  to 
Eighth  Street,  south  on  Eighth  to  G,  east  on  G  to 
Eleventh,  and  south  on  Eleventh  to  the  Navy  Yard 
bridge  across  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac.  No 
one  questioned  my  right  to  pass  over  this  bridge,  but 
when  Booth  reached  this  point  his  right  to  continue  on 
his  journey  was  challenged. 

At  half-past  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  assassina- 
tion Sergeant  Silas  T.  Cobb  asked:  "  Who  are  you,  sir?  " 
He  said:  "My  name  is  Booth."  "Where  are  you 
from?"  He  answered,  "  From  the  city."  "  Where  are 
you  going? "  He  replied,  "  I  am  going  home." 
"  Where  is  your  home?  "  He  said  it  was  in  Charles. 
The  sergeant  understood  the  meaning  of  that  to  be 
Charles  County,  and  asked  him  what  town.  Booth  said 
he  did  not  live  in  any  town.  "  You  must  live  in  some 
town,"  said  he.  "  I  live  close  to  Beantown,  but  do  not 
live  in  the  town."  He  was  asked  why  he  was  out  so 
late,  and  if  he  did  not  know  the  rule  that  persons  were 
not  allowed  to  pass  after  nine  o'clock.  He  said  it  was 
new  to  him;  that  he  had  had  somewhere  to  go  in  the 
city,  and  it  was  a  dark  night,  and  he  thought  he  would 
have  the  moon  to  ride  home  by.  The  moon  rose  that 
night  about  that  time.  After  this  bit  of  quizzing  the 
sergeant  thought  him  a  proper  person  to  pass,  and  so 
passed  him.  The  sensitive  horse  felt  the  nervousness  and 
anxiety  which  Booth  did  not  reveal  by  his  voice  or 
manner  during  the  few  minutes'  stop.  In  less  than  ten 
minutes  another  person  rode  up  and  received  the  senti- 
nel's challenge.  He  gave  his  name  as  Smith,  and  that 
he  was  going  home;  that  he  lived  at  White  Plains.  No 
doubt  but  what  the  sergeant  had  heard  the  name  before, 
but  not  that  of  his  home.  His  excuse  for  being  late  was 
that  he  had  been  in  bad  company.  His  horse  did  not 


244         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


STREET    IN    SURRATTSVILLE. 

Looking  north  from  the  front  of  the  Surratt  house  toward  Washington; 
the  road  by  which  Booth  and  Herold  entered  the  town. 

show  the  uneasiness  of  its  predecessor,  and  did  not  have 
the  appearance  of  being  driven  so  fast  as  the  first  one. 
The  explanations  of  this  man  being  entirely  satisfactory 
to  the  sentinel  of  the  United  States  army,  he  was  given  a 
clearance,  and  thus  Herold  followed  Booth  into  Mary- 
land. The  war  being  at  a  close,  the  restrictions  were 
not  so  exacting  at  this  bridge,  and  the  sentinels  were  at 
liberty  to  judge  the  proper  persons  to  pass  over.  The 
third  horseman  soon  rode  up,  and  inquired  whether  a 
man  riding  a  roan  horse  had  passed.  He  was  informed 
that  a  horse  answering  that  description  had  gone  on. 
The  sergeant  did  not  think  the  newcomer  had  business 
of  sufficient  importance  on  the  other  side  of  the  bridge, 
so  turned  him  back,  although  he  finally  consented  to  his 
crossing,  but  told  him  he  would  not  be  permitted  to  re- 


NARRATIVE   OF   A    WALK.  245 

turn;  so  he  did  not  cross.  This  man  was  John  Fletcher, 
who  had  hired  Herold  a  horse,  which,  not  being  returned 
at  the  proper  time,  he  was  out  searching  for,  tracking  it 
to  the  bridge.  The  distance  from  Ford's  Theater  to  the 
south  end  of  the  bridge  in  Anacostia  is  three  miles,  and 
the  first  road  turning  to  the  left  after  crossing  the  bridge 
is  the  one  taken  by  Booth  and  Herold.  It  leads  up  what 
is  called  Good  Hope  Hill.  It  was  on  this  hill  that  Booth 
stopped  a  farmer  and  inquired  the  road,  and  asked 
whether  a  horseman  had  passed.  He  afterward  passed 
a  second  man  on  a  horse,  but  did  not  speak  to  him. 
Herold,  upon  being  informed  that  a  horseman  had  only 
a  few  moments  preceded  him,  started  off  quite  briskly, 
evidently  anxious  to  overtake  Booth. 

At  the  top  of  the  hill  the  road  turns  to  the  right,  and 
then  to  the  left,  leading  to  Surrattsville.  Silver  Hill, 
six  miles  from  Washington,  was  reached  at  six  o'clock, 
and  four  miles  farther  brought  me  to  Camp  Springs. 
As  I  walked  into  Surrattsville,  at  a  quarter  to  nine 
o'clock,  the  good  people  were  flocking  into  the  little 
Catholic  Church  that  stood  on  the  left  side  of  the  road. 
A  short  distance  beyond,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road, 
I  recognized  the  historic  Surratt  House.  It  is  nestled 
in  a  clump  of  beautiful  trees,  and  I  venture  to  say  that 
the  occupants  of  the  house  in  war  times  would  not  recog- 
nize the  place.  The  owner  of  it,  Mr.  J.  W.  Wheatley, 
was  sitting  on  the  front  porch,  and  as  I  walked  up  and 
told  him  my  business,  stating  that  I  wanted  to  stop  with 
him  until  the  next  day,  he  at  once  made  me  feel  at 
home.  The  sign  at  the  corner  of  the  house  reads:  "  Vil- 
lage Hotel."  The  farm  originally  contained  168  acres. 
The  Surratts  sold  it  to  John  Hunter,  and  at  his  death 
it  was  left  to  Mrs.  Addison,  a  relative,  and  she  sold  117 
acres  to  Mr.  Wheatley  ten  years  ago.  At  that  time  it 


246 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


was  a  perfect  wilderness,  grown  over  with  pines  and 
underbrush,  but  with  liberal  expenditure  of  money  and 
time  it  now  has  no  superior  in  southern  Maryland. 
Every  foot  of  ground,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  piece 
of  timber,  is  under  cultivation.  The  house  faces  to  the 
west,  and  a  hall  runs  through  the  center.  The  room  at 
the  northwest  corner  is  used  as  the  barroom,  and  the 
one  adjoining  on  the  east  for  card-playing,  etc.  It  was 
through  the  barroom  door,  leading  out  to  the  north  end 


HOME    OF    MRS.    SURRATT,    SURRATTSVILLE,    MD. 

Thirteen  miles  southeast  of  Washington,  D.  C.  First  stop  made  by 
Booth  and  Herold  during  their  flight  from  the  city.  The  carbine  and  field- 
glass  that  were  left  here  by  John  H.  Surratt,  Herold,  and  Atzerodt  were 
handed  them  by  John  M.  Lloyd  through  the  barroom  door  at  the  end  of 
the  house. 

of  the  house,  that  Lloyd,  the  tenant,  handed  the  carbine 
and  whisky  to  Booth  and  Herold.  The  room  in  which 
Lloyd  secreted  them  when  John  Surratt  left  them  in  his 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  247 

care,  an  unfinished  one,  was  upstairs,  but  has  been  fin- 
ished since  Mr.  Wheatley  became  possessor  of  the  house. 
I  obtained  some  good  views  with  my  kodak  of  the 
most  interesting  places  around  the  house — the  back  door 
where  Lloyd  stopped  on  his  return  from  Marlboro  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  assassination,  and  handed  his  fish  in 
the  kitchen  door,  and  where  Mrs.  Surratt  met  him  and 
told  him  to  be  sure  and  be  at  home  that  night,  for  the 
guns  that  had  been  left  with  him  would  be  called  for. 

Surrattsville  during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  was 
classed  as  a  pretty  hard  town;  but  a  reformation  has 
since  taken  place,  and  the  community  is  now  very  re- 
spectable. The  Post-Office  Department  would  not  keep 
the  name  "  Surrattsville  "  on  their  list,  so  changed  it  to 
Clinton.  Two  roads  diverge  here;  the  one  to  the  east 
leads  to  Upper  Marlboro  and  the  one  to  the  west  to 
Piscataway.  The  latter  is  much  nearer  to  the  Potomac 
at  Port  Tobacco  than  the  road  Booth  took  to  Bryan- 
town  ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  go  that  route  on  account 
of  having  his  leg  dressed  by  Dr.  Mudd. 

After  a  good  night's  rest  and  a  hearty  breakfast  I 
started  on  my  walk,  Monday  the  I3th.  A  bridge  crosses 
Piscataway  Creek  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Sur- 
rattsville, and  swamps  lined  the  road  for  some  miles  dis- 
tance on  both  sides.  T.  B.  stands  right  in  the  forks 
of  the  road,  five  miles  from  Surrattsville.  Six  roads 
branch  out  in  as  many  directions.  The  first  person  that 
I  met  after  entering  the  village  of  a  dozen  houses  was 
Mrs.  Margaret  A.  Thompson.  She  lives  in  a  house  that 
stands  on  the  spot  where  J.  C.  Thompson  lived  when 
Booth  and  Herold  rode  through  the  village.  Thomp- 
son was  awake  that  night  and  heard  the  tramp  of 
horses'  feet,  but  did  not  know  at  the  time  who  rode 
by.  Mrs.  Thompson  said  that  John  Surratt  and  Herold 


248         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

wanted  to  leave  the  guns  at  Mr.  Thompson's  house, 
but  he  would  not  allow  it,  as  he  was  a  Govern- 
ment mail-carrier  at  the  time,  and  was  afraid  some- 
thing was  wrong  in  the  work  they  were  engaged  in. 
Atzerodt  joined  Surratt  and  Herold  here,  and  the  three 
returned  to  Surrattsville  and  left  the  guns  with  Mr. 
Lloyd.  Three  miles  from  T.  B.  I  crossed  the  Balti- 
more &  Potomac  and  Pope's  Creek  Railroad,  stepping 
from  King  George's  into  Charles  County,  and  crossed 
near  this  point  a  small  creek  bearing  the  name  of  Matta- 
woman,  and  the  Mattawoman  swamps  extended  for  some 
distance  along  the  road.  Beantown  was  passed,  and  I 
came  to  St.  Peter's  Catholic  Church,  beautifully  situated 
to  the  left  of  the  road.  I  drew  my  kodak  on  it,  and  next 
reached  the  graveyard  in  the  forks  of  the  road,  a  mile 


A  small  village  five  miles  south  of  Surrattsville,  through  which  Booth  and 
Herold  were  heard  riding  very  rapidly  about  i  A.  M.,  April  15. 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  249 

distant  from  the  church.  The  one  to  the  right  led  to 
Bryantown,  but  Booth  kept  on  the  straight  one  to  Dr. 
Mudd's.  In  this  graveyard  lies  Edward  Spangler,  who 
served  Dr.  Mudd  so  faithfully  in  Dry  Tortugas  while  the 
doctor  was  down  with  yellow  fever,  that  he  sheltered  and 
cared  for  him  until  he  died,  in  1881.  Two  miles  from 
the  graveyard  a  gate  on  the  right  of  the  road  leads  into 
a  field,  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  was  the  home  of  Dr. 
Mudd.  The  road  continues  past  this  gate,  probably  for 
half  a  mile,  until  it  enters  the  road  to  Bryantown,  so 
that  Dr.  Mudd's  house  is  situated  in  the  forks  of  the 
two  roads,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  each.  It  was  one 
o'clock  when  I  knocked  at  the  door,  hungry,  but  not 
tired,  having  walked  only  seventeen  miles.  It  being  past 
the  dinner  hour,  I  did  not  like  to  ask  for  anything  to 
eat.  This  place  is  thirty  miles  from  Washington,  and 
Booth  rode  the  distance  in  six  hours,  while  it  took  me 
ten  and  three-quarters  to  walk  it.  Mrs.  Dr.  Mudd  and 
one  of  her  daughters  treated  me  very  nicely.  At  the 
same  time  Mrs.  Mudd  let  me  understand  that  she  had 
not  become  reconciled  to  the  treatment  and  punishment 
that  her  husband  received,  and  felt  very  bitter  toward  the 
men  who  composed  the  Commission  that  tried  and  con- 
demned him  to  imprisonment.  At  the  time  Herold 
knocked  at  the  front  door  of  Dr.  Mudd's  house,  four 
o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  less  than  six  hours  after 
the  assassination,  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Mudd  were  sleeping 
in  a  back  room  downstairs.  When  the  doctor  heard  the 
noise  he  called  to  a  woman  who  was  sleeping  in  an  ad- 
joining room  to  go  to  the  door,  but  she  did  not  answer 
his  call.  He  then  asked  Mrs.  Mudd  to  go,  as  he  was  not 
feeling  well.  Mrs.  Mudd  said  she  did  not  want  to  go, 
so  the  doctor  answered  the  call,  and  on  opening  the  door 
found  Herold  there,  who  said  that  the  man  on  the  horse 


250 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


at  the  gate  had  broken  his  leg,  and  desired  medical  at- 
tendance. The  injured  man  was  assisted  off  his  horse 
and  into  the  house,  and  laid  upon  a  sofa  in  the  parlor 


GATE    LEADING    FROM    THE    MAIN    ROAD    TO    DR.MUDD'S    HOUSE, 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  A  colored  man  met  Booth  and  Herold 
at  this  gate  near  four  o'clock,  Saturday  morning,  and  Booth  offered  him 
a  drink  of  whisky  if  he  would  open  the  gate.  He  did  so,  but  said  Hooth  was 
so  slow  aboat  giving  him  the  whisky  that  he  shut  the  gate  and  went  on. 

to  the  left  of  the  hall.  The  doctor  made  an  examination 
of  the  leg,  and  found  that  the  small  bone  was  broken 
nearly  at  right  angles  across  the  limb,  about  two  inches 
above  the  instep.  Dr.  Mudd,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
wife,  who  made  her  appearance,  dressed  the  leg  as  well 
as  circumstances  would  permit,  after  which  the  man  was 
assisted  upstairs  to  a  room  directly  above  the  parlor. 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  25 1 

One  of  the  servants  of  the  house  made  a  rough  crutch 
for  the  patient.  Breakfast  in  Dr.  Mudd's  house  was  pre- 
pared early  that  morning,  and  Herold  was  invited  to  eat 
with  the  family.  The  breakfast  of  Booth  was  carried  to 
his  room.  Herold  talked  quite  freely  at  the  breakfast 
table,  not  seeming  at  all  worried  at  the  sad  plight  that 
he  and  Booth  were  in.  He  talked  in  a  familiar  way 
about  the  people  of  the  neighborhood,  when  Mrs.  Mudd 
asked  him  if  he  lived  in  that  section,  and  he  said,  "  No." 
She  remarked :  "  You  seem  to  know  a  good  many  people 
around  here,"  and  he  said:  "I  have  been  skylarking 
around  this  part  of  the  country  for  about  six  months." 
Mrs.  Mudd  said:  "Your  father  ought  to  put  you  to 
work."  He  replied,  "  My  father  is  dead,  and  I'm  ahead 
of  the  old  woman."  The  breakfast  sent  to  Booth  was 
untouched,  and  Mrs.  Mudd  learning  of  this  went  to  his 
room,  and  in  entering  it  said  to  Booth:  "  I  suppose  you 
think  I  am  not  very  hospitable."  To  this  he  made  no 
reply.  She  then  asked  him  if  there  was  anything  she 
could  do  for  him,  and  he  said:  "  Have  you  any  brandy?  " 
She  said:  "  No;  but  we  have  some  good  whisky;"  but 
he  would  have  none  of  that.  She  sent  him  up  some 
oranges  and  other  delicacies,  for  they  happened  to  have 
some  extras  on  account  of  it  being  Easter  time,  but  he 
ate  nothing  that  she  sent  up.  He  was  very  pale  and 
much  debilitated. 

In  the  forenoon  of  Tuesday,  the  i8th,  Lieutenant 
Alex.  Lovett,  William  Williams,  Simon  Gavacan,  and 
Joshua  Lloyd,  detectives,  with  a  squad  of  cavalry, 
reached  Dr.  Mudd's.  The  doctor  was  not  in  when  they 
arrived,  but  made  his  appearance  in  a  few  minutes.  The 
first  question  asked  Dr.  Mudd  was  whether  there  had 
been  any  strangers  at  his  house,  and  he  said  there  had 
not;  but  upon  close  questioning  he  admitted  that  there 


252 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


had.  The  doctor  explained  their  arrival  and  the  dress- 
ing of  Booth's  leg,  and  their  departure  about  4  o'clock 
p.  M.  next  day;  that  they  asked  to  be  directed  to  Parson 
Wilmer's  house  and  to  Allen's  Fresh,  and  that  he  ac- 
companied them  down  to  the  swamps,  showing  them 
the  road.  On  Friday,  the  2ist,  the  same  officers  ap- 


HOME    OF    DOCTOR    SAMUEL    A.    MUDD. 

Thirty  miles  south  of  Washington.  The  two  windows  to  the  left  of  the 
door  indicate  the  parlor  in  which  Dr.  Mudd  dressed  Booth's  leg,  and  the 
two  windows  above,  his  bedroom. 

peared  at  Dr.  Mudd's  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  him. 
He  was  not  in  at  this  visit,  but  his  wife  sent  for  him, 
and  when  he  came  they  told  him  the  nature  of  their  visit, 
and  that  they  would  have  to  search  the  house.  The 
servant  in  cleaning  up  the  room  that  Booth  had  used 
pushed  a  long  riding  boot  under  the  bed,  and,  when  the 
house  was  to  be  searched,  Dr.  Mudd  went  upstairs  and 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  253 

brought  down  the  boot,  with  "  J.  Wilkes  "  and  the  name 
of  the  makers,  "  Broadway,  N.  Y.,"  written  inside.  The 
boot  was  cut  some  ten  inches  from  the  instep.  A  razor 
that  Herold  had  borrowed  for  Booth  to  shave  off  his 
mustache  was  also  brought  from  the  room.  Dr.  Mudd 
was  asked  if  he  thought  his  visitor  was  Booth,  and  he 
said  he  thought  not.  He  said  the  man  had  whiskers  on, 
but  that  his  impression  was  he  shaved  off  his  mustache 
upstairs.  When  they  inquired  of  him  if  he  knew  Booth, 
he  said  that  he  was  introduced  to  him  at  church  in  that 
neighborhood  about  six  months  before,  by  a  man  named 
Thompson,  and  that  Booth  wanted  to  buy  a  farm,  but 
he  believed  the  man  who  had  been  there  was  not  Booth. 

The  officers  did  not  search  the  house,  as  they  consid- 
ered the  boot  and  razor  were  satisfactory  evidence  that 
Booth  and  Herold  had  been  there.  When  a  photograph 
of  Booth  was  shown  to  Dr.  Mudd,  he  said  he  did  not 
recognize  it,  but  there  was  something  about  the  forehead 
or  the  eyes  that  resembled  one  of  the  parties.  Mrs., 
Mudd  said  that  the  whiskers  became  detached  and 
dropped  off  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  which  surely  proved 
that  they  were  artificial.  If  Booth  wore  them,  it  was  only 
while  at  Dr.  Mudd's;  for  nowhere  else  were  they  seen 
on  him.  Dr.  Mudd  finally  admitted  on  the  2ist,  after 
the  boot  had  been  found,  that  he  recognized  as  Booth 
the  man  whose  leg  he  dressed.  Dr.  Mudd  was  taken 
to  Washington  on  the  day  of  his  arrest. 

Mrs.  Mudd  told  me  that  when  she  applied  to  President 
Johnson  for  her  husband's  pardon,  after  he  had  been  in 
prison  several  years,  Johnson  promised  her  it  should  be 
granted  before  he  went  out  of  office,  but  the  pressure 
would  be  too  strong  against  such  an  action  at  that  time. 
She  finally  received  a  message  from  Johnson  in  1869, 
stating  her  husband's  pardon  had  been  granted,  and  she 


254         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


THE  HOME  OF  DR.  MUDD'S  FATHER. 

This  house  is  two  miles  from  Dr.  Mudd's,  on  the  Bryantown  road.  To 
this  house  Dr.  Mudd  and  Herold  came  on  Saturday  afternoon,  to  hire  a 
buggy  to  convey  the  fugitives  on  their  journey,  but  they  could  not  procure  it. 

immediately  went  to  Washington  to  receive  it.  When 
she  obtained  the  paper,  she  inquired  how  she  could  get 
it  to  her  husband,  when  President  Johnson  said  he  had 
nothing  more  to  do  with  it.  She  determined  to  take  it 
to  Dr.  Mudd  in  person,  so  went  to  Baltimore  to  take 
a  boat  for  Dry  Tortugas,  but  upon  her  arrival  there 
found  the  vessel  had  gone.  She  then  expressed  the 
document  to  her  brother  in  New  Orleans,  but  it  cost  him 
five  hundred  dollars  to  get  it  to  the  doctor. 

After  spending  a  pleasant  hour  in  conversation  with 
Mrs.  Mudd,  and  taking  several  snapshots  of  the  house,  I 
left,  and,  after  getting  on  the  Bryantown  road,  I  walked 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  255 

off  toward  that  town,  and  two  miles  distant  came  to  the 
home  of  Dr.  Mudd's  father,  a  large  house  to  the  left 
of  the  road,  surrounded  by  a  forest  of  trees.  Two  miles 
farther  brought  me  to  within  one  mile  of  Bryantown 
and  the  spot  where  Dr.  Mudd  directed  Booth  and  Herold 
to  leave  the  main  road,  Saturday,  4  p.  M.,  and  go  around 
to  the  west  of  Bryantown,  as  the  soldiers  had  already 
taken  possession  of  the  town,  and  would  soon  have 
scouts  upon  all  the  avenues  leading  into  the  country. 

Booth  and  Herold's  long  stay  at  Dr.  Mudd's  house 
has  been  somewhat  of  a  mystery,  for  they  surely  knew 
that  delay  was  dangerous  to  them  on  the  Maryland 
side  of  the  river.  It  was  after  dinner  on  Saturday 
when  Dr.  Mudd  and  Herold  started  on  horseback 
toward  Bryantown  in  search  of  a  vehicle  with  which 
to  more  speedily  expedite  their  flight.  Frank  Wash- 
ington, a  colored  man  working  for  Dr.  Mudd,  took 
care  of  the  two  horses,  one  a  bay  and  the  other 
a  large  roan,  that  Booth  and  Herold  rode  to  Dr. 
Mudd's.  At  noon  on  the  day  they  arrived  he  brought 
out  of  the  stable  the  bay  one  and  Dr.  Mudd's  gray, 
and  Herold  and  Dr.  Mudd  rode  off.  The  colored 
man  then  went  to  the  field  to  work,  and  on  his  re- 
turn to  the  house  in  the  evening  the  bay  and  the  roan 
horses  were  gone.  Journeying  on  horseback  with  a 
broken  leg  was  to  Booth  slow  and  painful.  Another 
reason  for  changing  their  means  of  locomotion  was  that 
they  would  not  be  as  readily  recognized  in  a  carriage 
as  on  horseback.  Dr.  Mudd  left  Herold  some  little  dis- 
tance from  town  while  he  went  on  to  see  whether  or 
not  the  coast  was  clear.  He  did  not  stay  long  in  town 
when  he  found  it  occupied  with  soldiers,  who  were  on 
the  hunt  for  the  very  two  men  that  he  was  harboring 
at  his  home.  Lieutenant  David  D.  Dana  reached 


256         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Bryantown  the  day  after  the  assassination,  about  I 
o'clock  P.  M.,  communicating  the  intelligence  of  it, 
and  naming  the  assassin  to  the  citizens,  and  in  less 
than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  everyone  in  the  village 
knew  it.  The  lieutenant  had  sent  a  squad  of  four  men 
ahead  of  him,  and  they  reached  Bryantown  half  an 
hour  earlier.  After  Dr.  Mudd  returned  to  Herold,  the 
latter  lost  no  time  in  going  back  to  the  house  for  Booth. 
It  is  not  certain  that  Dr.  Mudd  returned  to  his  home 
with  Herold,  but  it  is  generally  believed  that  he  stood 
as  a  sentinel  between  the  soldiers  in  Bryantown  and  the 
assassins  at  his  home,  and  must  have  felt  uneasy  until 
he  had  them  well  started  through  the  Zekiah  swamps 
west  of  Bryantown.  There  was  a  cart  road  leading  west 
from  Dr.  Mudd's,  passing  the  farm  of  his  brother,  Henry 
L.  Mudd.  Within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
Beantown  and  Bryantown  road  they  passed  the  farm  of 
Mrs.  W.  J.  Middleton,  and  then  followed  the  road  lead- 
ing from  Bryantown  to  Beantown  for  a  mile,  when  they 
turned  south,  passing  St.  Paul's,  or  Piney,  Episcopal 
Church,  presided  over  by  Parson  Wilmer.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Booth  inquired  for  Parson  Wilmer's, 
but  this  was  only  a  blind,  as  the  good  old  parson  was 
a  staunch  Union  man  all  through  war  times,  and  did 
good  service  by  furnishing  the  Government  with  in- 
formation regarding  the  movements  of  the  Confederates 
in  that  section  of  the  country. 

When  Booth  and  Herold  reached  Brice  Chapel  (a  col- 
ored church)  they  lost  their  way,  and  Herold  went  a 
.mile  and  a  half  toward  Bryantown  to  the  negro  cabin 
of  Oswald  Swann,  who  lived  on  the  La  Plata  road,  half 
a  mile  from  the  Bryantown  road.  Swann  accompanied 
Herold  back  to  Brice's,  where  Booth  hired  him  to  con- 
duct them  to  the  house  of  Colonel  Cox,  to  which  place 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK. 


257 


they  had  been  directed  by  Dr.  Mudd.  With  a  good 
guide  they  experienced  no  further  trouble  on  their  way. 
They  passed  through  the  little  village  of  Newtown, 
reaching  Colonel  Cox's  house  early  Sunday  morning, 
after  which  Swann  was  dismissed,  Booth  paying  him  ten 
dollars  for  his  work. 

I  registered  my  name  at  the  Bryantown  Hotel,  and 
after  completing  my  toilet  I  started  at  half-past  four 
to  walk  out  a  mile  south  to  the  St.  Mary's  Catholic 


BRYANTOWN     HOTEL. 

Booth  made  this  his  stopping  place  upon  several  occasions,  and  a  number 
of  citizens  of  the  community  who  were  suspected  of  being  implicated  in  the 
conspiracy  were  confined  here  for  a  while. 

Church,  presided  over  by  Rev.  Edward  Southgate,  to 
whom  I  carried  a  letter  of  introduction  from  his  sister 
at  Falls  Church,  Va.  I  found  Rev.  Mr.  Southgate  a  very 
pleasant  gentleman,  and  heard  from  his  lips  the  interest- 
ing story  of  his  trip  through  a  cold,  blustering  winter 
night  to  the  deathbed  of  Dr.  Mudd.' 

Dr.  Mudd  stood  for  half  an  hour  in  front  of  St.  Mary's 


258         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Church  on  January  i,  1883,  without  an  overcoat,  and,  it 
being  a  very  cold  day,  he  took  a  severe  cold,  from  the 
effects  of  which  he  died  on  the  loth  of  the  same  month. 
Upon  his  return  in  1869  from  the  Dry  Tortugas  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  medicine,  and  was  very  successful 
up  to  the  time  of  his  last  sickness.  His  grave  was 
pointed  out  to  me,  and  from  the  tombstone  I  copied: 

SAMUEL  A.  MUDD.     Died  Jan.  10,  1883. 

Rev.  Mr.  Southgate  has  been  connected  with  this  church 
for  the  past  twenty  years,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by 
all  who  know  him.  It  was  here  that  J.  Wilkes  Booth  at- 
tended service  on  a  Sunday  in  November,  1864.  He 
occupied  a  seat  in  the  pew  of  Dr.  Queen,  who  lives  four 
miles  south  of  the  church,  and  after  the  service  was  in- 
troduced to  Dr.  Mudd.  Booth  carried  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction from  a  Mr.  Martin,  of  Canada,  to  Dr.  Queen. 
Booth's  excuse  for  being  in  that  part  of  the  country  was 
the  purchase  of  some  land.  Of  others  he  inquired  for 
horses,  for  he  wanted  to  buy  a  couple,  and  of  still  an- 
other he  made  particular  inquiry  about  the  roads  through 
southern  Maryland,  their  conditions  and  directions. 
The  land  purchase  was  a  sham,  but  he  did  want  to  buy 
a  horse  or  two,  and  did  want  to  gain  some  knowledge 
of  the  roads,  for  horses  and  roads  were  to  play  prominent 
parts  in  his  contemplated  scheme. 

John  Surratt's,  Herold's,  and  Atzerodt's  acquaintance 
in  the  lower  part  of  Maryland  no  doubt  suggested  to 
Booth  the  route  to  take  the  President  in  case  of  his 
capture,  or  Booth's  road  to  escape  if  murder  had  to  be 
resorted  to.  Booth's  visit,  as  far  south  as  Leonardtown, 
in  St.  Mary's  County,  for  the  alleged  purpose  of  buying 
land,  made  him  also  well  informed  in  that  section.  He 
tried  to  affiliate  with  the  people  whom  he  met  upon  his 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  259 

several  visits,  and  no  doubt  intrusted  to  some  of  his 
newly  made  acquaintances  the  true  object  of  his  visits. 
Booth  again  visited  this  church  in  December  of  the  same 
year,  and  on  both  trips  stopped  a  night  or  two  with  Dr. 
Mudd.  Dr.  Mudd  and  his  family  were  members  of  this 
church,  and  the  doctor  was  much  esteemed  in  the  com- 
munity. 

I  was  so  pleasantly  entertained  in  and  around  this 
church  that  I  detained  Mr.  Southgate  from  answering 
the  supper  bell,  and  the  second  call  was  made  in  the 
person  of  his  charming  sister,  who  appeared  upon  the 
scene  and  kindly  invited  me  to  accompany  them  to  tea. 
I  wanted  to  accept,  but  thought  of  the  disappointment 
the  young  man  at  the  hotel  would  experience  when  I 
failed  to  eat  the  meal  that  he  would  have  prepared  for 
me.  He  had  complained  of  dull  business,  and  said  I  was 
the  only  arrival  of  the  day.  After  my  return  to  the  hotel, 
and  supper  over,  I  engaged  in  conversation  with  Mr. 
Peter  Trotter,  a  resident  of  Bryantown  for  the  past  forty- 
seven  years.  He  told  me  that  when  Thomas  L.  Gardiner, 
a  nephew  of  Squire  Gardiner,  from  whom  Booth  pur- 
chased a  horse  in  November,  1864,  brought  it  to  Bryan- 
town  the  following  day,  Booth  took  it  to  Trotter's 
blacksmith  shop  to  have  it  shod.  Mr.  Trotter's  black- 
smith shop  remains  to-day  on  the  same  spot.  Booth 
purchased  a  saddle  and  bridle  from  Mr.  Henry  A. 
Turner,  who  had  a  store  there  at  that  time.  Mr.  Trotter 
said  that  while  he  was  shoeing  the  horse  Booth  was  in 
conversation  with  a  number  of  persons  who  had  col- 
lected around  him  in  the  shop,  all  being  charmed 
with  his  fascinating  manner.  Dr.  Mudd  accompanied 
Booth  on  this  visit  to  Bryantown,  and  when  the  horse 
was  shod,  Booth  mounted  it,  and  the  two  rode  away 
together. 


260         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

I  have  it  from  unquestionable  authority  that  Dr.  Mudd 
acknowledged  a  short  time  before  his  death  that  he  was 
connected  with  the  original  plan  of  kidnaping  the  Presi- 
dent. The  plan  was  to  take  Lincoln  across  the  Potomac 
at  Port  Tobacco  Creek,  and  Mudd  was  in  readiness  at  any 
time  to  assist  the  work.  Various  plans  were  talked  over 
at  his  own  house.  My  informant  feels  very  positive  that 
the  doctor  would  not  have  entered  into  any  plot  to  mur- 
der the  President,  and  was  horrified  at  the  deed  done 
by  Booth;  but  as  Booth  came  to  his  house  a  wounded 
man,  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  dress  his  broken  leg 
and  get  him  out  of  the  way  as  quickly  as  possible. 

Before  the  two  railroads  penetrated  southern  Mary- 
land considerable  business  was  done  at  Bryantown,  and 
a  number  of  wealthy  people  lived  in  the  town.  The  ship- 
ping to  and  from  this  section  of  the  country  was  done 
on  the  Patuxent  River,  about  ten  miles  east,  and  the 
town  of  Benedict  was  the  port  of  entry.  White  Plains 
and  Waldorf  are  the  two  stations  on  the  Pope  Creek 
Railroad  for  Bryantown.  I  left  Bryantown  at  seven 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  I4th.  The  road,  leading 
out  one  mile  to  the  Catholic  Church,  which  is  situated 
in  a  beautiful  grove  to  the  left  of  it,  is  a  very  pleasant 
one  to  walk  over.  Six  miles  from  Bryantown  is  Dents- 
ville,  and  upon  inquiring  if  there  was  anyone  in  the 
place  that  lived  there  when  Booth  rode  through,  I  was 
informed  that  there  was  not,  but  a  blacksmith  by  the 
name  of  Jones  might  know  something,  although  he  had 
only  been  in  the  place  a  comparatively  short  time.  I 
called  upon  the  gentleman,  and  found  him  to  be  John  J. 
Jones,  a  son  of  Thomas  A.  Jones,  the  man  who  se- 
creted Booth  in  the  thicket.  He  could  not  tell  me 
anything  new  of  that  eventful  period,  but  I  did  learn 
from  him  something  that  pleased  me  very  much.  I 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK. 


26l 


had  been  informed  that  Henry  Woodland,  the  colored 
slave  who  assisted  Thomas  Jones  in  getting  Booth 
across  the  river,  was  dead;  but  Mr.  Jones  informed  me 
that  he  was  living  twenty  miles  distant  on  the  farm  of 
William  McK.  Burroughs,  on  Cobb  Neck,  near  Tomp- 
kinsville,  Charles  County.  I  then  and  there  made  up 
my  mind  that  I  would  go  and  see  the  old  man,  and  get 
him  up  to  show  me  the  ground,  from  the  spot  in  the 
woods  where  the  assassins  were  secreted  to  the  point  on 
the  river  where  Jones  and  he  shoved  them  off  in  the  very 
boat  that  Woodland  had  used  during  the  day  fishing  for 
shad.  I  remarked  to  Jones,  in  the  presence  of  several  men 
who  were  waiting  for  work  to  be  done,  that  I  would  go 
on  to  Cox's  Station,  six  miles  farther,  where  I  intended 


STKEET    IN    BKYANTOWN,  MD.,  LOOKING    NORTH. 


262         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

staying  all  night,  and  next  day  get  a  team  and  go  after 
Woodland.  I  could  not  spare  the  time  to  walk,  and  if 
I  took  a  buggy  I  could  bring  him  up.  With  this  I  bade 
the  occupants  of  the  shop  good-by,  and,  when  about  a 
square  away,  heard  a  voice  calling  me.  Turning  around, 
I  saw  coming  one  of  the  men  who  was  in  the  shop. 
When  he  came  up  he  asked  me  what  I  would  give  him  to 
take  me  down  to  where  Woodland  lived,  and  I  said  any- 
thing that  was  right.  He  fixed  the  price  at  three 
dollars,  and  promised  to  land  me  at  Cox's  Station  on  the 
return,  bringing  Woodland  back  with  us,  providing  he 
would  come.  I  accepted  his  offer,  which  I  thought  was 
liberal,  and  we  walked  a  few  feet  farther,  and  came  to  a 
yoke  of  young  oxen  hitched  to  a  cart.  He  said:  "Get 
in,"  and  I  got  on,  for  it  was  simply  a  flat  bed  with  a 
sack  of  ground  corn  in  the  middle.  I  wondered  if  that 
was  the  vehicle  in  which  I  was  to  see  forty  miles  of  the 
country,  but  my  wonderment  ceased  when  he  said  we 
would  go  home  and  hitch  up  the  team.  He  lived  two 
and  a  half  miles  from  Dentville,  and  when  about  halfway 
he  turned  the  oxen  to  the  side  of  the  road  to  nibble  the 
foliage  of  the  trees  while  he  went  into  the  woods  to  look 
after  his  tobacco  bed.  He  soon  returned  with  his  wife, 
who  had  been  pulling  the  weeds  out  of  the  patch.  She 
made  the  third  passenger  on  the  cart,  and  away  we 
started  through  the  woods,  bumping  over  the  roots  and 
rough  places,  until  it  looked  and  felt  as  if  we  would  be 
dumped  by  the  roadside.  We  reached  his  home,  and  the 
good  wife  went  to  work  and  prepared  our  dinner,  while 
a  message  was  sent  out  to  the  cornfield  for  his  son  to 
bring  in  the  horses.  My  mind  was  again  disturbed,  for  I 
thought  of  going  the  distance  that  we  were  to  make  be- 
hind a  pair  of  hard-worked  plow  horses.  I  did  not 
worry,  but  took  out  my  kodak  and  photographed  the 


NARRATIVE   OF  A    WALK.  263 

old  house,  which  is  one  hundred  and  six  years  old,  and 
presided  over  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Millard  Thompson. 
Dinner  over,  I  took  a  back  seat  in  a  strong  spring 
wagon,  and  behind  two  young  horses  that  could  travel  as 
fast  as  I  cared  to  go.  We  passed  through  Allen's  Fresh, 
Newbtirg,  Wayside,  Harris  Lot,  and  Tompkinsville, 
reaching  the  farm  of  William  McK.  Burroughs,  on  the 
Wicomico  River,  at  4.45.  We  were  not  very  long  on 
the  beautiful  farm,  called  in  war  times  a  first-class  planta- 
tion, until  we  found  Henry  Woodland,  pulling  weeds 
out  of  a  tobacco  patch.  I  stated  to  him  the  object  of  my 
visit,  and  that  I  wanted  him  to  go  back  to  his  old  stamp- 
ing grounds  and  pilot  me  over  the  territory  the  next  clay. 
He  looked  wonderfully  pleased  with  the  idea  of  again 
meeting  old  friends  and  old  places,  but  he  would  have 
to  gain  the  consent  of  Mr.  Burroughs,  as  it  was  a  pretty 
busy  time  and  weeds  were  growing  "  mighty  fast."  We 
lost  but  little  time  until  we  were  in  the  presence  of  the 
genial  proprietor,  and,  after  stating  the  object  of  my 
visit,  he  at  once  said :  "  Henry,  you  can't  go  with  these 
gentlemen  to-day,  for  you  will  have  to  hunt  someone 
to  take  your  place  in  the  tobacco  beds;  you  can  put  up 
the  best  horse  I  have  on  the  farm  and  start  by  daylight 
in  the  morning,  and  you  can  reach  Cox's  Station  by  nine 
o'clock."  Well,  to  say  that  I  was  pleased  is  putting  it 
very  mildly.  We  bade  them  good-by,  and  left  on  our 
return  trip  at  5.30,  and  reached  Cox's  Station  at  7.40,  just 
twenty  miles  in  two  hours  and  ten  minutes.  After  a 
good  supper  at  the  Wills  Hotel,  for  ourselves  and  horses, 
Mr.  Thompson  started  home.  The  next  morning  a  little 
before  nine  o'clock  Henry  Woodland  rode  into  Cox's  Sta- 
tion, perfectly  bewildered  at  the  improvements  that  had 
been  made  since  he  was  last  in  that  vicinity.  A  railroad 
had  been  built,  and  the  steam  horse  plowed  through  the 


264         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

dense  forest,  letting  sunshine  into  its  darkest  recesses. 
No  wonder  that  he  was  confused  when  he  attempted  to 
tell  where  his  master  hid  Booth.  The  ground  on  which 


HENRY    WOODLAND. 

The  faithful  and  honest  slave  of  Thomas  A.  Jones.    He  assisted  Jones 
while  caring  for  Booth  in  the  thicket,  and  during  the  journey  to  the  river. 

the  assassin  lay  for  five  days  has  since  brought  forth 
good  crops.  Mr.  Woodland  and  I  walked  one  mile  east 
of  the  station  to  the  old  farmhouse  of  Samuel  Cox.  We 
were  met  by  Samuel  Cox,  Jr.,  the  adopted  son,  and  at 
once  made  to  feel  welcome.  And  this  is  the  place  to 
which  the  colored  man  Swann  brought  Booth  and  Herold 
from  where  he  found  them  lost  in  the  swamps  west  of 
Bryantown  soon  after  they  left  Dr.  Mudd's.  I  asked 
Mr.  Cox  to  give  me  his  recollections  of  the  coming  and 
going  of  Booth  and  Herold,  and  he  cheerfully  gave  me 
the  following  reminiscence: 


NARRATIVE    OF  A   WALK.  265 

"  On  February  8,  1865,  I  was  eighteen  years  of  age, 
and  going  to  Charlotte  Hall  Academy,  in  St.  Mary's 
County,  Maryland.  When  Lee's  army  fell  back  before 
the  overwhelming  forces  of  Grant,  about  the  last  stand 
they  made  was  at  Hatcher's  Run,  in  which  engagement 
General  A.  P.  Hill  was  killed.  In  Hill's  corps  I  had  a 
very  dear  brother,  who  joined  the  Southern  army  in  the 
summer  of  1862,  and  had  served  with  it  through  all  its 
vicissitudes,  and  was  in  the  engagement  at  Hatcher's 
Run  on  the  2d  of  April,  1865,  and  up  to  that  time  had 
never  received  a  scratch.  After  Hill's  corps  fell  back 
from  Hatcher's  Run,  brother  Harry  and  some  of  his 
comrades  were  annoying  the  Federal  troops  by  their 
sharp-shooting,  when  he  received  his  first  wound — a  bul- 
let through  his  right  lung.  His  comrades  removed  him 
to  a  private  house  in  the  vicinity,  and  my  adopted  father. 
Colonel  Samuel  Cox,  was  written  to,  notifying  us  of  his 
wound.  On  or  about  the  i2th  of  April  I  was  called 
from  Charlotte  Hall  to  go  to  Virginia  to  nurse  my 
wounded  brother.  The  surrender  of  Appomattox  had 
taken  place,  and  my  adopted  father  and  myself  were  to 
have  started  for  Washington  on  Tuesday,  April  18,  on 
our  way  to  near  Petersburg,  where  brother  Harry  lay 
wounded.  On  Saturday  evening,  April  15,  when  we  re- 
ceived the  mail,  we  were  shocked  to  learn  of  the  as- 
sassination of  President  Lincoln.  It  was  peculiarly 
shocking  to  us,  for  besides  the  deed  itself,  in  which  none 
of  us  sympathized,  we  realized  that  it  would  prevent  our 
rendering  such  aid  to  my  stricken  brother  as  his  condi- 
tion required,  as  we  would  not  be  permitted  to  leave  the 
vicinity  of  Washington,  which  naturally  had  been  thrown 
into  great  excitement  by  the  insane  act  of  John  Wilkes 
Booth.  Our  fears  were  realized,  for  we  were  denied  pas- 
sage into  Virginia,  and,  worse  still,  my  brother,  who 


266         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

had  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  able  to  sit  up  and  write 
to  us  on  the  morning  of  April  18,  was  that  evening  re- 
moved by  Federal  troops  from  the  private  residence 
where  he  had  been  so  tenderly  cared  for  to  a  hospital, 
which  removal  started  his  wound  afresh,  and  he  died 
on  the  22d  of  April,  1865,  a  victim  to  the  harshness  of 
foes  maddened  by  the  crime  of  Booth,  and  who  had  so 
soon  forgotten  the  noble  sentiment  of  Grant,  uttered  a 
few  days  before — '  Let  us  have  peace.' 

"  On  Sunday  morning,  April  16,  at  one  o'clock  our 
household  was  startled  by  loud  rapping  on  the  old  brass 
knocker  that  adorns  our  front  door.  Colonel  Cox 
opened  the  door,  and  was  confronted  by  a  man  who 
sought  admittance  for  himself  and  his  crippled  com- 
panion, who  was  standing  in  the  yard.  Colonel  Cox  de- 
manded their  names,  which  they  declined  to  give,  and  he 
thereupon  refused  them  admittance,  and  in  a  short  time 
they  left,  incensed  at  his  want  of  hospitality.  He  had 
told  them  he  had  just  heard  of  the  killing  of  President 
Lincoln,  and  could  not  entertain  strangers  while  the 
country  was  overrun  with  soldiers.  It  was  Herold  and 
Booth  who  were  seeking  admittance,  but  he  did  not  know 
either  of  them.  Herold,  who  had  visited  in  the  county, 
knew  Colonel  Cox  when  he  saw  him,  but  had  never  been 
introduced.  Booth  Colonel  Cox  had  never  even  seen  on 
the  stage.  They  had  been  piloted  to  our  place  by  a  negro 
named  Oswald  Swann,  who  came  with  them  from  the 
vicinity  of  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudd's,  who  lived  about  four- 
teen miles  east  from  us.  Dr.  Mudd  was  a  personal 
friend  of  Colonel  Cox,  and  Booth  and  Herold  said  they 
came  from  Dr.  Mudd  and  were  assured  Colonel  Cox 
would  take  care  of  them.  When  they  were  dismissed 
from  our  door,  they  discharged  the  negro  Swann,  and 
during  the  morning  while  riding  out  on  his  farm  Colonel 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  267 

Cox  came  upon  them  secreted  in  a  gully  about  half  a 
mile  southeast  from  his  house.  The  crippled  and  suffer- 
ing condition  of  Booth  appealed  to  his  humanity,  and  he 
then  carried  them  into  the  pines,  some  two  miles  from 
his  house,  where  they  were  secreted  by  him  and  Thomas 
A.  Jones  until  Friday  night,  April  21,  when  they  were 
put  in  a  boat  by  Jones  and  his  trusty  servant,  Henry 
Woodland,  and  left  to  their  fate  upon  the  stormy  bosom 
of  the  Potomac.  On  Monday  the  i8th  of  April  I  was 
dispatched  by  Colonel  Cox  to  Jones.  Jones  responded 
to  the  appeal  of  Colonel  Cox,  who  besought  him  to  aid 
him  in  getting  them  across  the  Potomac.  Jones,  who 
had  had  many  adventures  the  preceding  four  years,  in 
going  back  and  forth  across  the  Potomac,  was  very  re- 
luctant to  engage  in  this  undertaking;  and,  I  cm  con- 
vinced, would  not  have  done  so  but  to  aid  his  friend 
Colonel  Cox,  who  had  gone  into  it  without  reflection  and 
without  realizing  the  full  meaning  of  what  he  was  doing 
until  it  was  too  late,  and  then  the  only  thing  left  for  him 
to  do  was  to  escape  the  consequences  of  his  impulsive 
act.  To  deliver  them  up  after  having  accepted  their  con- 
fidence never  for  a  moment  entered  his  brain.  Treachery 
was  no  part  of  the  composition  of  either  Samuel  Cox 
or  Thomas  A.  Jones.  But  neither  Cox  nor  Jones  was 
actuated  for  one  moment  by  any  sympathy  for  the  act 
of  John  Wilkes  Booth,  and  both  earnestly  expressed 
their  condemnation  of  it,  as  being  fraught  with  more  evil 
consequences  to  the  South  and  the  Southern  people,  with 
whom  they  did  sympathize,  than  anything  that  had  oc- 
curred during  the  war. 

"  I  have  heard  my  adopted  father,  Colonel  Cox,  speak 
of  a  plan  to  abduct  President  Lincoln  and  carry 
him  to  Richmond  to  be  held  as  a  hostage,  and  also 
heard  him  mention  the  names  of  prominent  gentle- 


268         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

men,  who  then  lived  in  Charles  County,  who  were 
cognizant  of  this  plan,  some  of  whom  held  boats  at 
different  points  upon  the  Potomac  and  its  tributaries 
to  convey  Lincoln  and  his  captors  across  whenever 
they  should  appear.  In  1877  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudcl 
and  myself  were  the  Democratic  candidates  for  the 
legislature  from  Charles  County,  and  on  frequent  oc- 
casions during  the  campaign,  when  we  were  alone  to- 
gether, Mudd  would  talk  about  the  assassination  and  the 
part  for  which  he  was  tried  and  convicted  and  sent  to 
the  Dry  Tortugas.  He  had  been  pardoned  by  President 
Andrew  Johnson,  and  had  been  at  home  several  years 
when  these  conversations  took  place.  He  told  me  that 
he  had  never  admired  Booth,  who  had  forced  himself 
upon  him  twice  before  he  came  to  his  house  the  morning 
after  the  assassination;  that  several  years  before  he  had 
refused  to  be  introduced  to  Booth  in  Washington,  and 
that,  after  his  refusal.  Booth  had  introduced  himself  to 
him  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue;  that  some  months  after- 
ward Booth  came  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  at 
Bryantown,  of  which  Dr.  Mudd  was  a  member;  that  see- 
ing Booth  there  he  had  spoken  to  him,  and  studiously 
avoided  inviting  him  to  his  house,  but  that  when 
going  home  from  church  Booth  had  followed  him  un- 
invited; that  he  never  saw  him  again  until  the  morning 
of  the  1 5th  of  April,  1865,  when  Booth  came  to  him  with 
a  broken  leg,  and  told  him  he  and  Herold  had  just  come 
from  across  the  Potomac,  and  that  soon  after  leaving  the 
river  his  horse  had  fallen  and  broken  his  rider's  leg;  that 
he  believed  the  statement,  and  knew  nothing  different 
while  he  was  ministering  to  Booth's  sufferings;  that  after 
he  had  made  Booth  as  comfortable  as  he  could,  he  left 
him  and  rode  to  Bryantown  to  mail  some  letters,  and 
when  he  arrived  within  half  a  mile  of  the  village  he  found 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  269 

the  place  surrounded  by  soldiers,  and  was  stopped  by 
a  sentry,  by  whom  he  was  told  of  the  assassination  of 
the  President  the  night  before,  and  that  Booth  was  the 
assassin.  He  then  said  his  first  impulse  was  to  say, 
'  Come  with  me  and  I  will  deliver  him  to  you.'  But  in- 
stead he  rode  back  home  with  the  full  determination  to 
warn  Booth  and  upbraid  him  for  his  treachery  and  the 
danger  he  had  placed  him  in;  that  he  felt  outraged  at 
the  treatment  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  Booth,  and 
that  he  did  threaten  to  deliver  him  up.  He  then  said 
Booth,  in  a  tragic  manner,  had  appealed  to  him  in  the 
name  of  his  mother  not  to  do  so,  and  he  yielded  to  the 
appeal,  but  made  them  leave  his  premises  forthwith. 
This  statement  was  made  to  me  by  Dr.  Samuel  A.  Mudd 
several  years  after  he  had  been  released  from  the  Dry 
Tortugas,  when  he  could  have  had  no  motive  in  telling 
me  what  was  untrue  as  to  his  part  in  assisting  Booth. 
From  statements  made  to  me  I  believe  Mudd  was  aware 
of  the  intention  to  abduct  President  Lincoln,  but  am 
confident  he  knew  nothing  of  the  plan  of  assassination. 
I  am  now  the  only  living  white  person  who  knew  of  the 
whereabouts  of  Booth  and  Herold  after  they  left  Colo- 
nel Cox's  on  Sunday  morning,  April  16,  1865,  and 
were  launched  upon  the  Potomac  by  Thomas  A.  Jones 
and  Henry  Woodland,  Friday  night,  April  21,  1865.  I 
am  the  only  person  living  who  knows  where  the  horses 
ridden  by  Booth  and  Herold  were  taken  and  shot  by 
Franklin  A.  Roby,  who  lived  upon  one  of  Colonel  Cox's 
farms,  and  I  can  truthfully  testify  that,  from  what  I  knew 
of  those  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  and  their  connection 
with  harboring  Booth  and  Herold  during  those  five  days, 
they  were  not  actuated  by  any  sympathy  they  felt  for 
Booth  for  his  mad  act  of  assassinating  President 
Lincoln." 


2/0         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Mr.  Cox  then  ordered  his  buggy  to  the  door,  and 
Woodland  and  I  were  invited  to  take  a  seat.  The  buggy 
was  left  at  the  station  while  Mr.  Cox  took  me  down  the 
railroad  a  mile,  and  pointed  out  a  clear  piece  of  ground 
to  the  right  of  the  road  as  the  tobacco  bed  on  which 
Booth  and  Herold  lay,  surrounded  by  a  dense  forest. 
The  public  road  runs  close  to  this  spot,  the  railroad 
within  fifty  feet  of  it.  Mr.  Cox  saw  a  historic  stump  dug 
up  near  this  spot  when  the  railroad  was  being  built. 
The  stump  had  three  large  roots  that  ran  down  into  the 
ground,  and  the  cavity  in  them  was  used  as  a  deposit  for 
the  Confederate  mail.  The  mail  that  was  going  to  Rich- 
mond and  Southern  points  during  the  war,  and  from 
the  South  to  the  North,  was  deposited  in  this  stump,  and 
called  for  by  the  properly  assigned  agents.  The  letters 
from  the  South  were  then  dropped  into  the  United 
States  post  offices,  after  placing  the  proper  stamps  upon 
them ;  then  they  were  delivered  to  their  destination.  Mr. 
Cox  says  he  remembered  his  father  getting  the  mail  from 
the  stump  a  number  of  times.  Northern  papers  were 
sent  through  this  way,  and  were  read  in  Richmond 
twenty-four  hours  after  they  were  printed.  To  avoid 
suspicion,  the  letters  intended  for  the  North  were  de- 
posited by  different  persons,  at  various  offices.  I  asked 
Mr.  Cox  why  he  didn't  save  the  stump,  and  he  said  he 
did  not  think  of  it  at  the  time,  but  has  regretted  it  many 
times  since.  The  tobacco  bed  where  Booth  and  Herold 
were  secreted,  and  near  which  the  stump  grew,  was  on  the 
property  of  Captain  Michael  Stone  Robertson,  and  when 
Colonel  Cox  sent  the  fugitives  to  this  spot  he  well  knew 
that  the  surrounding  thicket  would  completely  shield 
them  from  discovery.  We  returned  to  the  station,  where 
I  hired  a  buggy,  and  with  Henry  Woodland  started  over 
the  road  just  traveled  with  Mr.  Cox,  passing  the  historic 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  2/1 

spot,  and  continuing  along  the  public  road  leading  to 
Pope's  Creek.  After  a  three-mile  ride  we  turned  into  the 
"  Huckleberry  "  farm,  the  former  home  of  Thomas  A. 
Jones,  and  now  owned  by  George  Dent.  The  one-story- 
and-a-half  house  is  about  three  hundred  feet  from  the 
road,  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  Potomac 
River.  Woodland  was  very  much  gratified  at  seeing 
once  again  the  little  house  that  was  a  home  to  him  for 
so  many  years.  It  pleased  him  very  much  when  I  too'k 
his  photograph  standing,  with  the  house  in  the  back- 
ground. He  took  a  position  where  he  could  in  imagina- 
tion see  his  master  coming  to  the  house  from  the  public 
road.  We  returned  to  the  road  and  drove  to  Pope's 
Creek,  a  mile  distant,  as  I  desired  to  make  arrangements 
with  a  fisherman  to  take  me  across  the  Potomac  the  fol- 
lowing day.  After  engaging  a  sailboat,  we  returned  over 
the  same  road  for  a  short  distance,  when  we  entered  the 
farm  of  a  Mr.  Dent,  whose  house  was  the  last  that  Jones 
passed  when  escorting  Booth  and  Herold  to  the  river. 

Mr.  A.  I.  Lyons  lives  in  the  old  Colonial  house,  which 
the  British  partially  destroyed  by  fire.  We  drove  down 
to  the  river,  on  the  same  road  over  which  Jones  piloted 
Booth  and  Herold  from  "  Huckleberry  "  farm.  It  was 
difficult  descending  the  winding  road  through  the  woods 
with  a  buggy,  and  Jones  probably  experienced  as  much 
trouble  in  getting  Booth  down  the  road  on  horseback. 
After  tying  our  horse  near  the  water's  edge.  Woodland 
took  a  position  near  a  large  oak  tree,  saying:  "  Here  is 
where  I  tied  the  boat  up  after  fishing  all  day  for  shad, 
and  that  night  Master  Jones  shoved  it  out  in  the  river 
with  Booth  and  Herold  in  it.  Now  let  us  walk  up  the 
river  a  short  distance  until  I  explain  how  I  saved  my 
life  and  that  of  my  master."  We  walked  up  the  beach 
probably  a  hundred  yards,  when  we  came  to  a  little 


2/2 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


stream  that  backed  in  from  the  river  and  overflowed 
a  flat  space  called  Dent's  Meadows.  Woodland  contin- 
ued: "  I  was  arrested  a  few  days  after  Booth  started 
across  the  river,  and  was  asked  what  I  did  with  the  boat 
I  used  in  fishing  on  the  2ist.  I  replied  that  I  sunk  it  in 
the  river.  I  was  taken  to  this  spot,  and  I  pointed  up 
this  little  stream,  and  said  that  I  bored  a  hole  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat  and  sunk  it.  I  was  asked  to  give  my 
reasons,  and  I  told  the  detectives  that  the  soldiers  were 
destroying  all  the  boats  along  the  river,  and  I  could  not 


DENT'S  MEADOW. 

Henry  Woodland  standing  near  the  spot  where  he  told  the  detectives 
who  arrested  him  that  he  sank  the  boat  in  which  he  was  fishing  during 
the  day  that  he  and  Jones  put  Booth  and  Herold  in  it  to  cross  the  river. 
He  did  not  sink  the  boat,  but  told  that  story  in  order  to  shield  his  master. 

afford  to  lose  mine,  so  sunk  it  until  the  excitement  was 
over.  This  explanation  seemed  to  satisfy  them,  for  I 
was  taken  to  Port  Tobacco  and  confined  in  jail  but  one 


NARRATIVE  OF  A  WALK. 

day,  then  released.  Had  they  known  that  the  very  boat 
that  they  were  inquiring  for  had  carried  the  assassins 
across  the  river,  the  life  of  Thomas  A.  Jones  and  myself 
would  not  have  been  worth  very  much.  I  was  deter- 
mined to  shield  my  master  at  the  risk  of  my  own  life,  and 
I  did  it,  although  I  was  pained  to  hear  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  man  that  had  made  me  a  freeman ;  but  I  could 
not  prove  false  to  the  man  that  had  been  kind  to  me  while 
I  was  his  slave,  and  at  all  times  since." 

We  returned  to  Cox's  Station  at  half-past  two  o'clock, 
and  after  dinner  I  compensated  Henry  Woodland,  my 
escort  of  the  day,  for  the  time  and  trouble  it  cost  him 
in  coming  so  long  a  distance  from  his  quiet  home.  It 
was  a  task  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  for  he  was  sixty- 
four  years  of  age,  and  it  tired  him  very  much  to -ride  such 
a  long  distance  on  horseback.  He  had  frequently  to 
walk,  in  order  to  rest  himself.  I  took  the  three  o'clock 
train  for  La  Plata,  three  miles  north,  and  then  walked 
three  miles  west  to  Port  Tobacco.  This  is  a  quaint  old 
place.  Almost  every  person  of  energy  has  left  it,  and  the 
doors  of  the  old  jail,  the  scene  of  murder  and  lynching, 
swing  open,  and  the  birds  were  nesting  within.  The 
court  house  is  in  ruins,  as  a  new  one  has  been  built  at 
La  Plata.  A  very  creditable  Episcopal  church  has  been 
spared,  but  for  how  long  no  one  can  tell,  for  rumor  says 
it  too  must  go  to  the  more  enterprising  town  of  La 
Plata.  There  is  one  thing  in  Port  Tobacco  that  is  likely 
to  stay,  and  that  is  the  ever-flowing  artesian  well  that 
stands  in  the  heart  of  the  town.  I  made  some  inquiry 
about  George  Atzerodt,  one  of  the  conspirators.  The 
people  of  Port  Tobacco  have  been  too  much  blamed  for 
harboring  a  class  of  worthless  fellows  during  and  after 
the  war,  but  they  ought  not  to  have  been  so  severely 
censured  as  they  were,  for  objectionable  characters  came 


2/4         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

and  lingered  there,  as  it  was  one  of  the  points  selected  for 
the  transfer  of  contraband  material  across  the  Potomac. 
John  Atzerodt,  and  his  brother,  George  A.,  came  to  this 
town  and  started  a  carriage  repair  shop.  John  did  the 
wood  and  iron  work  and  George  did  the  painting,  and 
both  were  good  workmen.  I  was  told  by  an  old  gentle- 
man that  during  the  war  J.  Alexander  Brawner,  pro- 
prietor of  the  "  Brawner  Hotel,"  was  the  strongest  sym- 
pathizer with  the  Southern  cause,  and  annoyed  the  Union 
men  very  much.  Port  Tobacco  and  Pope's  Creek  were 
two  ports  of  entry  for  the  smuggling  of  mail  and  supplies 
to  the  Confederacy.  From  Chapel  Point  the  Potomac 
backs  up  the  Port  Tobacco  River.  Some  of  the  most 
prominent  men  who  lived  in  this  section,  and  also  Sur- 
rattsville  and  Pope's  Creek,  were  implicated  in  the 
scheme  to  kidnap  President  Lincoln.  The  party  who 
gave  me  the  names  did  not  think  for  a  moment  that  one 
of  them  was  ever  connected  with  the  plot  of  assassination, 
nor  did  he  believe  one  of  them  could  have  been  induced 
to  enter  into  any  such  scheme.  Herold  visited  this  place 
three  weeks  before  the  assassination,  and  while  in  com- 
pany with  some  boys  said  that  the  next  time  they  heard 
from  him  he  would  be  in  Spain,  and  that  he  would  have  a 
barrel  of  money.  He  frequently  visited  this  neighbor- 
hood, for,  being  an  expert  sportsman,  he  hunted  this  sec- 
tion over,  and  had  friends  and  acquaintances  at  almost 
every  farmhouse.  At  the  last  visit  that  Atzerodt  made 
to  his  former  home  he  told  his  companions  that  if  he 
ever  came  back  to  Port  Tobacco  he  would  be  rich 
enough  to  buy  the  whole  place. 

The  people  in  southern  Maryland  believe  that  the  fail- 
ure to  abduct  the  President  during  the  fall  of  1864 
and  spring  of  1865  was  due  to  the  condition  of  the  roads 
during  these  periods.  They  believe  the  scheme  would 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  275 

have  been  successfully  carried  out  but  for  the  mild 
winter  and  frequent  rains.  Relays  of  fast  horses  were  in 
readiness  at  proper  places  between  Washington  and  Port 
Tobacco  Creek,  where  boats  were  hired  and  everything 
in  preparation  to  transport  the  President  across  the 
Potomac,  but  they  did  not  know  of  the  difficulties  that  the 
conspirators  met  with  at  the  Washington  end  of  the  line. 
Mr.  Eddy  Martin,  a  commercial  broker  of  New  York, 
came  down  to  this  place  about  the  loth  of  January,  1865, 
with  the  intention  of  crossing  the  river  to  Virginia,  and 
remained  here  for  ten  days  waiting  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  do  so.  He  secured  the  services  of  George  A. 
Atzerodt,  who  at  that  time  was  living  here,  to  take  him 
over,  but  Atzerodt  failed  him.  While  waiting  here 
Martin  made  the  acquaintance  of  John  H.  Surratt,  who 
said  he  had  to  return  to  Washington,  as  he  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Adams  Express  Company,  and  was  on 
three  days'  leave.  When  this  conversation  took  place, 
Surratt  came  to  the  supper  table  with  his  leggings  on, 
and  immediately  after  left  on  his  horse  for  Washington. 
The  same  night  at  eleven  o'clock  Mr.  Margin  told  At- 
zerodt that  he  believed  that  he  was  playing  false  with 
him,  and  that  he  intended  crossing  the  river  that  night 
with  another  party.  Atzerodt  assured  Martin  he  should 
cross  in  the  first  boat;  that  no  one  would  cross  that  night, 
but'  on  Wednesday  night  a  large  party  of  ten  or  twelve 
persons  would  cross;  that  he  had  been  engaged  that  day 
buying  boats;  that  they  were  going  to  have  relays  of 
horses  on  the  road  between  Port  Tobacco  and  Wash- 
ington. Mr.  Martin  said:  "  What  does  this  mean?  "  At- 
zerodt said:  "  I  can't  tell,  but  I  am  going  to  get  well 
paid  for  it."  John  H.  Surratt  no  doubt  came  down  with 
instructions  to  Atzerodt  that  the  President  would  be  ab- 
ducted at  a  certain  time,  and  to  have  everything  in 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

readiness.  Surratt  had  lately  gone  into  the  service  of 
the  Adams  Express  Company  in  Washington.  Booth 
wanting  him  at  a  certain  time,  Surratt  asked  for  leave  of 
absence,  and  as  it  was  denied  him  he  left  his  place.  It 
was  for  this  work  along  this  line  that  he  resigned  his 
position. 

Instead  of  returning  to  La  Plata  over  the  same  road, 
I  took  the  one  to  Port  Tobacco  Station.  On  leaving  the 
town  a  long  hill  had  to  be  climbed,  but  the  scenery  to 
the  station  was  quite  romantic,  which  fully  compensated 
for  the  uphill  walk.  The  farms  on  this  route  were  not 
under  as  good  a  state  of  cultivation  as  along  the  other 
one.  I  reached  the  station,  situated  in  the  heart  of  dense 
woods,  where  I  sat  for  half  an  hour  on  a  big  pile  of  rail- 
road ties,  watching  the  lizards  play  "  hide-and-go-seek  " 
through  the  many  holes  in  the  ties.  The  train  was  on 
time,  and  landed  me  at  Cox's  Station  a  few  minutes  past 
seven;  but  not  too  late  for  a  supper  at  the  hotel.  After 
staying  at  Cox's  Station  Tuesday  night,  Mr.  Wills, 
the  genial  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  kindly  offered  to 
take  me  in  his  buggy  to  Pope's  Creek.  I  had  intended 
to  walk  down,  but  accepted  his  kind  invitation;  so  we 
started  immediately  after  breakfast  Thursday  morning, 
and  the  distance  seemed  very  short  behind  a  three- 
minute  horse. 

Pope's  Creek  is  a  small  stream  emptying  into  the  Poto- 
mac about  sixty  miles  from  Washington.  This  is  the 
southern  terminus  of  the  Pope's  Creek  Railroad.  The 
point  where  Booth  and  Herold  left  the  Maryland  shore,  at 
Dent's  Meadows,  is  one  and  a  half  miles  above  this  place. 
If  they  had  gone  according  to  the  direction  given  them 
by  Jones,  they  would  have  reached  Machodoc  Creek 
within  five  miles ;  but  when  their  boat  reached  the  heavy 
tide  that  was  then  coming  in,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK. 


277 


they  lost  their  bearings,  and  were  carried  twelve  miles 
out  of  their  way,  reaching  some  time  in  the  night  Avon 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  Nanjemoy  Creek.  During  the 
early  morning  Herold  made  his  way  to  the  house  of 


POPE'S    CREEK,    MI). 

This  point  is  sixty  miles  south  of  Washington,  and  was  the  popular  ferry 
for  transporting  fugitives  and  contraband  mail  across  the  Potomac  River 
into  Virginia  during  the  war,  and  here  Thomas  A.  Jones  conducted  the 
work  for  the  Confederate  Government. 

Colonel  J.  J.  Hughes,  a  short  distance  from  where  they 
landed,  and  there  secured  something  to  eat  and  correct 
information  as  to  their  route  back  to  Machodoc  Creek. 
They  remained  in  concealment  Saturday  the  22d,  and 
during  the  night  made  their  way  to  the  mouth  of  Ma- 
chodoc Creek.  During  the  war  Thomas  A.  Jones  lived 


2/8         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

two  miles  south  of  this  place,  on  a  farm  of  nearly  five 
hundred  acres.  The  Potomac  River  bordered  it  on  the 
west  and  Pope's  Creek  on  the  north.  His  small  house 
stood  on  a  bluff  seventy-five  feet  high.  A  beautiful  view 
was  had  from  his  house  up  and  down  the  river  for  six 
or  seven  miles.  It  was  just  such  a  place  as  the  Confed- 
erates wanted  for  a  signal  station,  and  Jones  was  just  the 
man  to  carry  on  the  secret  transportation  of  the  mail  and 
also  the  people  wishing  to  go  south,  and  was  connected 
with  the  mail  service  for  the  Confederates  from  the  sec- 
ond year  of  the  war  to  the  close  of  it.  It  was  his  part 
of  the  work  to  transport  the  mail  across  the  river,  and  he 
told  me  that  he  took  over  passengers  many  times  when 
he  feared  they  would  be  captured  by  the  gunboats  that 
were  patrolling  the  river.  Benjamin  Grimes,  who  lived 
opposite  to  Pope's  Creek,  in  King  George's  County,  Vir- 
ginia, two  and  three-quarter  miles  distant,  attended  to 
the  business  on  that  side  of  the  river.  Jones  said  it  re- 
quired great  vigilance  to  carry  out  the  work  successfully. 
He  was  well  qualified  for  just  such  dangerous  opera- 
tions. No  one  could  detect  anything  in  his  appearance 
that  indicated  the  business  that  he  was  engaged  in. 
Grimes  generally  came  across  to  Jones'  farm  and  de- 
posited the  mail  in  the  fork  of  a  dead  tree,  and  returned 
with  the  mail  from  the  North  that  Jones  had  gathered 
up.  Jones  then  delivered  the  mail  to  the  three-pronged 
stump  ne»r  Cox's  Station. 

Mr.  Charles  Drinks,  the  fisherman,  announced  his 
dory  in  readiness,  so  I  stepped  in,  taking  a  reclining 
position  in  the  stern,  when  the  sails  were  hoisted,  and 
the  little  fishing  boat  darted  out  into  the  river,  pointing 
toward  Machodoc  Creek,  five  miles  distant.  There  was 
a  stiff  breeze  when  we  started,  and  I  flattered  myself  I 
would  have  a  short  voyage,  but  the  wind  suddenly  went 


NARRATIVE  OF  A  WALK.  279 

down,  and  the  two  boys  in  charge  were  compelled  to 
tack.  The  change  was  made  so  suddenly  that  it  scarcely 
gave  me  time  to  lower  my  head  for  the  boom  to  pass 
over.  We  now  faced  the  Maryland  shore  for  a  short 
time,  when  the  course  of  the  boat  was  changed.  The 
wind  ceased  entirely,  and  down  came  the  sails.  The  boys 
took  hold  of  the  oars  and  worked  like  old  sailors.  Two 
hours'  sailing,  tacking,  and  rowing  landed  us  half  a  mile 
short  of  Machodoc  Creek,  but  in  front  of  the  residence 
of  James  A.  Arnold.  I  had  been  directed  to  this  place 
as  a  proper  one  to  gain  such  information  as  I  desired 
to  obtain  of  that  section.  When  I  knocked  at  the  door 
it  was  opened  by  a  bright  young  lady,  and  I  inquired 
for  her  mother.  I  was  invited  in,  and  when  the  mother 
appeared  I  felt  satisfied  thtere  must  be  a  mistake,  for  she 
looked  entirely  too  young  to  know  much  of  the  early 
scenes  of  the  Civil  War  and  the  assassination  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln;  but  I  ventured  to  tell  her  that  I  had  been 
directed  to  her  for  certain  information  concerning 
Booth's  stay  for  twenty-four  hours  in  that  section  of  the 
country.  A  smile  crept  over  her  face,  and  she  said 
the  lady  to  whom  I  was  directed  must  be  her  husband's 
mother,  and  I  said  perhaps  that  was  true.  She  kindly 
informed  me  that  her  husband  was  out  at  the  light-house, 
which  we  could  see  from  the  front  room,  and  that  she 
was  expecting  to  see  him  raise  the  sail  of  his  boat  at  any 
moment  and  come  to  shore.  She  made  me  feel  at  home 
at  once,  and,  while  I  was  anxious  to  be  going,  I  con- 
tented myself,  patiently  waiting  for  the  sails  to  rise. 
Mrs.  Arnold  has  a  very  interesting  family  of  girls,  five 
in  number,  and  the  mother  seemed  to  be  one  among 
them,  making  a  cheerful,  domestic  home.  An  hour  and 
a  half  passed  away  pleasantly,  and  dinner  was  announced. 
I  did  full  justice  to  the  meal,  and  felt  thankful  I  had  been 


280         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


GAMBO  CREEK. 

A  small  stream  running  inland  from  the  Potomac,  into  which  Booth  and 
Herold  guided  their  boat,  instead  of  the  Machodoc  Creek,  as  directed  by 
Jones.  The  spot  where  they  tied  their  boat  was  near  a  black- walnut  tree. 
The  tree  has  since  been  cut  down,  but  a  ten-foot  section  of  it  still  lies  upon 
the  bank  (IQOI). 

detained  at  so  pleasant  a  place.  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Ireland 
of  Baltimore,  a  relative  of  the  family,  was  spending  some 
time  here  nursing  a  broken  leg.  He  proved  to  be  a  good 
companion,  so  we  chatted  away  until  three  o'clock,  when 
Mr.  Arnold,  a  jolly  good  fellow,  landed  with  his  faithful 
dog  from  the  light-house.  I  said:  "  I  have  been  waiting 
here  since  eleven  o'clock  to  see  you;"  and  he  replied: 
'''  This  is  a  pretty  good  place  to  wait."  I  at  once  told 
him  the  places  that  I  wished  to  see,  and  if  he  would  give 
me  directions  how  to  reach  them  I  would  start  out, 
for  I  wanted  to  proceed  on  my  way  to  Port  Conway, 
twenty-two  miles  distant.  He  said:  "  I  will  show  you 
these  places,  but  you  will  have  to  stay  here  all  night,  for 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  28 1 

it  will  take  the  balance  of  the  afternoon  to  visit  these 
points."  Well,  as  I  had  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  the 
other  side  of  the  house,  I  concluded  to  accept  his  kind 
offer.  I  took  my  kodak,  and  we  walked  across  his  farm 
to  a  creek.  "Now,"  said  he,  "  this  is  Gambo  Creek,  and 
Booth  and  Herold  came  up  to  this  point.  There  was  a 
walnut  tree  standing  upon  the  opposite  shore,  and  it  was 
under  that  tree  that  Booth  rested  while  Herold  went  over 
to  Mrs.  Quesenberry's,  a  mile  distant."  The  spot  where 
they  landed  was  on  the  farm  of  Dr.  Hooe.  The  walnut 
tree  was  cut  down  lately,  but  the  butt  of  it,  probably 
twelve  feet  long,  still  remains  by  the  stump.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Booth  and  Herold  were  directed  to 
Machodoc  Creek,  on  the  banks  of  which  Mrs.  Quesen- 
berry  lived,  but  there  was  too  much  commotion  among 
the  small  vessels  that  were  in  this  creek,  so  they  guided 
their  boat  up  Gambo  Creek.  Mrs.  Quesenberry  sent 
Booth  something  to  eat,  and  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Harbin, 
brother-in-law  of  Thomas  A.  Jones,  assisted  Booth  and 
Herold  farther  up  the  creek,  and  to  Bryan's  house. 

We  returned  to  the  house,  when  Mr.  Arnold  had  a 
horse  hitched  to  a  buggy,  and  Mr.  Ireland  was  helped  in, 
while  Mr.  Arnold  and  I  walked.  After  passing  through 
several  gates  of  the  farm,  we  came  to  a  bridge  over 
Gambo  Creek.  This  was  the  end  of  navigation,  as  far 
as  Booth  and  Herold  were  concerned,  for  here  they  were 
piloted  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Bryan.  We  passed  over  the 
bridge  and  continued  for  some  distance,  when  we 
reached  faint  marks  of  a  road  leading  into  the  woods 
to  the  right.  The  buggy  could  not  follow,  so  Mr.  Arnold 
and  I  continued  to  walk,  stumbling  over  logs  and  dodg- 
ing the  low  branches,  until  we  reached  a  clearing  on 
which  once  stood  the  log  cabin  of  Mr.  Bryan,  in  which 
Booth  was  entertained  until  the  start  was  made  for  Dr. 


282 


ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


Stuart's.  The  trees  and  shrubbery  had  grown  up  so 
thriftily  around  Bryan's  cabin  that  a  stranger  going 
through  the  woods  would  never  suspect  that  it  was  once 
inhabited.  Bryan  had  for  a  housekeeper  a  colored 
woman  by  the  name  of  Susan  McGee,  and  Susan  told 
the  neighbors  that  she  tried  to  cook  some  good  things 
for  Booth,  but  he  would  not  eat  anything.  Booth  left 
under  the  pillow  that  he  rested  upon  a  very  neat  little 
handkerchief,  and  Mrs.  McGee  kept  it  as  a  great  trophy, 
after  learning  the  name  of  the  notorious  person  she 
had  entertained.  We  retraced  our  steps  to  the  buggy, 
Mr.  Arnold  returning  on  foot  to  his  house  after  giv- 
ing us  the  proper  directions  to  get  to  Mrs.  Quesen- 
berry's.  We  drove  on  through  fields  and  gates  until 


BRIDGE  OVER  GAMBO  CREEK. 


To  this  point  Booth  and  Herold  came  in  their  boat,  then  left  it  as  a  gift  to 
Mrs.  Quesenberry  for  favors  received.  They  were  taken  to  the  log  cabin  to 
Bryan's,  a  mile  and  a  quarter  distant. 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  283 

we  reached  the  house.  It  is  beautifully  situated  in 
a  grove  of  trees,  within  fifty  yards  of  Machodoc  Creek, 
the  lawn  sloping  down  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
house  and  farm  are  now  owned  by  L.  N.  Hoag,  Sr. 
On  this  farm  the  Confederate  government  established 
a  signal  station  to  communicate  with  the  one  on 
the  Maryland  side,  located  on  a  high  hill  south  of  Pope's 
Creek.  These  two  stations  were  successfully  operated 
for  nearly  two  years — on  the  Maryland  side  right  over 
the  heads  of  the  Union  soldiers  who  were  encamped 
there.  Mr.  Rously  P.  Quesenberry,  a  son  of  Mrs. 
Quesenberry,  lives  on  an  adjoining  farm.  He  was  quite 
young  at  the  time  Booth  visited  the  neighborhood,  conse- 
quently knows  but  little  about  those  stirring  times.  He 
says  his  mother  was  of  a  retiring  nature,  and  did  not  say 
much  about  the  affair.  Booth  made  Mrs.  Quesenberry  a 
present  of  the  boat  in  which  he  arrived,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  Government  took  it  in  charge,  but  upon  inquiring 
at  the  National  Museum  I  was  informed  it  was  not  in 
the  possession  of  the  Government.  After  spending  half 
an  hour  very  pleasantly  around  this  historic  house,  we 
turned  our  horse  toward  Mr.  Arnold's  home,  reaching 
it  just  in  time  for  supper.  A  social  evening  was  spent, 
with  playing  and  singing  by  the  young  ladies.  Mr. 
Arnold,  keeper  of  the  Lower  Cedar  Point  light-house, 
left  us,  to  remain  at  his  station  all  night,  but  before  go- 
ing gave  me  proper  directions  to  continue  my  walk  to 
Port  Conway,  which  point  I  expected  to  make  the  next 
day.  Benjamin  B.  Arnold,  the  father  of  Mr.  James  A. 
Arnold,  my  genial  host,  died  some  years  ago.  Mr. 
Arnold,  Sr.,  was  engaged  in  the  plot  to  abduct  the  Presi- 
dent, and  the  part  assigned  him  was  to  take  charge  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  river  and  hurry 
him  to  Richmond.  When  the  news  of  the  President's 


284         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


assassination  reached  the  home  of  Mr.  Arnold,  which 
was  at  that  time  a  few  miles  farther  up  the  river,  he  ex- 
pressed his  regrets,  saying:  "  I  am  very  sorry  the  Presi- 
dent was  shot,  but  very  glad  they  never  succeeded  in 
kidnaping  him,  for  it  let  me  out  of  a  very  dirty  job." 

On  Friday  morning,  after  breakfast,  I  bade  this  hospi- 
table family  good-by,  and  started  on  my  day's  journey  as 


HOME    OF    MRS.     QUESENBERRY. 

On  Machodoc  Creek,  Va.  To  this  house  Booth  was  directed  by  Thomas  A. 
Jones.  Booth  and  Herold  landed  in  Gambo  Creek,  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
distant,  and  the  latter  .made  his  way  to  the  house  for  food  and  assistance, 
both  of  which  were  freely  given. 

the  clock  struck  seven.  I  was  a  little  fearful  that  I  would 
get  confused  and  lose  my  road,  as  the  direction  in  which 
Bryan  conveyed  Booth  was  through  woods  and  byways 
for  some  distance;  but  by  inquiring  frequently  I  suc- 
ceeded very  well.  The  only  mistake  I  made  I  learned 
when  I  inquired  at  a  neat  little  log  cabin,  with  a  colored 


NARRATIVE   OF  A  WALK.  285 

portrait  of  President  McKinley  hanging  in  the  window, 
where  I  was  told  I  had  walked  half  a  mile  past  the  sum- 
mer home  of  Dr.  Richard  Stuart ;  so  I  retraced  my  steps 
until  I  came  to  a  road  leading  to  the  right  through  rather 
a  dense  wood.  The  gate  at  this  entrance  was  covered 
with  wire,  which  tallied  with  the  description  that  I  re- 
ceived. The  house  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the  road, 
facing  to  the  east,  over  about  ten  acres  of  a  lawn,  and 
woods  on  three  sides  of  it.  I  reached  this  place  at  eleven 
o'clock,  ten  miles  from  the  river.  Booth  reached  this  place 
about  5  P.  M.  Sunday,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  he 
expected  a  royal  welcome;  but  in  this  he  was  keenly  dis- 
appointed. Dr.  Stuart  had  been  under  arrest  several 
times  for  his  complicity  in  the  Southern  cause,  and,  the 
war  being  over,  he  did  not  care  to  jeopardize  his  inter- 
est at  that  late  date,  so  he  absolutely  refused  to  do  more 
for  Booth  than  give  him  something  to  eat  and  direct 
•him  half  a  mile  farther  on  his  journey  to  the  house  of 
William  Lucas,  a  colored  hired  man  living  on  Stuart's 
farm.  To  Booth  this  was  a  cutting  disappointment,  as 
the  following  note  that  he  wrote  and  sent  back  to  the 
doctor  will  prove: 

Dea  [piece  torn  out]  Forgive  me,  but  I  have  some  little  pride. 
I  cannot  blame  you  for  want  of  hospitality;  you  know  your  own 
affairs.  I  was  sick,  tired,  with  a  broken  limb,  and  in  need  of 
medical  assistance.  I  would  not  have  turned  a  dog  away  from 
my  door  in  such  a  plight.  However,  you  were  kind  enough  to 
give  us  something  to  eat,  for  which  I  not  only  thank  you  ;  not 
for  the  rebuke  and  manner  in  which  to  [piece  torn  out].  It  is 
not  the  substance,  but  the  way  in  which  kindness  is  extended, 
that  makes  one  happy  in  the  acceptance  thereof.  The  sauce  to 
meat  is  ceremony  ;  meeting  were  bare  without  it.  Be  kind 
enough  to  accept  the  enclosed  five  dollars,  although  hard  to 
spare,  for  what  we  have  had. 

On  my  return  to  the  road  I  inquired  at  the  same  little 
log  cabin  for  the  home  of  William  Lucas,  and  was  di- 


286         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

rected  to  it,  which  was  almost  opposite.  I  crossed  a 
field  and  found  the  cabin  unoccupied,  except  for  various 
things  stored  there.  A  new  house  had  been  built  within 


ENTRANCE    TO    DR.    STUART'S    HOME. 

Gate  of  lane  leading  to  the  residence  of  Dr.  Richard  Stuart,  from  the 
main  Port  Conway  road. 

thirty  feet  of  it,  owned  by  David  Jett,  a  colored  man. 
There  ended  the  responsibility  of  Mr.  Bryan,  and  he 
returned  to  his  home.  Booth  remained  in  this  cabin 
on  Sunday  night,  the  23d,  and  efirly  next  morning  Wil- 
liam Lucas  took  them  in  a  spring  wagon  to  Port  Con- 
way,  on  the  Rappahannock  River. 

After  photographing  the  house  I  made  my  way  to  the 
road,  and  walked  on  two  miles,  which  brought  me  to 
Weedenville,  and  I  stepped  into  Mr.  Weeden's  general 
store  and  told  him  that  I  was  a  stranger,  and  hungry. 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  287 

He  said:  "  You  shall  not  be  hungry  long."  So  he  took 
three  eggs  from  behind  the  counter,  gave  them  to  a  col- 
ored man,  saying:  "Take  these  to  the  house  and  tell 
Mrs.  Weeden  to  cook  a  dinner  for  a  stranger."  The 
house  stood  back  of  the  store,  and  when  I  sat  down  to 
the  table  I  felt  that  I  could  do  justice  to  the  good  things 
Mrs.  Weeden  had  prepared.  I  laid  a  silver  coin  upon  the 
table,  and  gave  thanks  beside,  but  the  good  lady  did  not 
want  to  take  the  money.  A  few  miles  from  this  place 
I  came  to  Edge  Hill.  A  road  turns  here  to  King 
George's  Court  House,  and  at  the  forks  of  the  road 
stands  a  large  store  building,  and  on  the  steps  was  a 
group  of  men  engaged  in  exchange  of  opinions  upon  the 
prospects  of  the  coming  year's  crops.  They  all  ceased 
talking  when  I  told  of  my  errand  through  the  country,  and 
one  of  the  number,  R.  H.  Page,  said  that  he  was  sitting 
on  the  steps  of  another  store,  that  stood  long  ago  where 
this  one  now  stands,  when  he  saw  a  "two-horse  spring 
wagon  coming  along.  He  only  recognized  the  driver, 
William  Lucas,  and  he  asked  him  where  he  was  going, 
and  Lucas  said:  "Down  the  country."  They,  did  not 
stop.  This  was  about  2  p.  M.  on  the  24th.  The  last  place 
that  I  stopped  was  in  the  country  store  of  A.  B.  Golman, 
within  two  miles  of  Port  Conway.  The  first  question 
asked  by  him  after  he  learned  that  I  was  from  Washing- 
ton was:  "  You  must  know  my  son,  on  the  police  force 
in  Washington."  I  said,  No,  I  did  not  know  him,  as 
I  had  avoided  the  police  as  much  as  possible  in  Wash- 
ington, but  1  would  look  him  up,  and  tell  him  that  I 
had  seen  his  father.  I  walked  into  Port  Conway  at 
5  P.  M.,  having  covered  the  twenty-two  miles  since  seven 
in  the  morning.  The  road  the  greater  part  of  the  way 
was  sandy,  making  the  walking  difficult,  and  the  day  was 
quite  warm.  However,  I  did  not  feel  fatigued.  I 


288         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN 

stopped  at  the  house  of  R.  V.  Turner,  postmaster  and 
storekeeper,  with  whom  I  had  had  some  correspondence. 
Port  Conway  was  at  one  time  a  busy  little  place,  but  it 
has  gone  into  decay,  and  but  little  business  is  now  trans- 
acted there.  At  this  point  the  river  is  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  wide. 

At  half-past  nine  on  Monday  the  24th  Booth  and 
Herold  were  driven  into  Port  Conway  on  the  Rappa- 
hannock  River  in  a  wagon.  Booth  paid  William  Lucas 
ten  dollars  for  bringing  them  from  his  cabin,  and 


SUMMER  HOME  OF  DR.   RICHARD  STUART. 

This  house  is  ten  miles  from  the  Potomac  River.  Booth  expected  aid  and 
approbation  from  Dr.  Stuart,  but  was  repulsed  instead.  He  was  sent  on  to 
William  Lucas,  a  colored  tenant  of  Dr.  Hughes. 

then  dismissed  him.  In  half  an  hour  after  their  arrival 
three  Confederate  soldiers,  Captain  William  M.  Jett, 
Lieutenant  A.  R.  Bainbridge,  and  Captain  Ruggles, 
made  their  appearance  at  the  ferry.  When  the  three  of- 


NARRATIVE   Of  A   WALK.  289 

ficers  stopped,  Herold  got  out  of  the  wagon  and  ap- 
proached them,  saying:  "  What  command  do  you  belong 
to?  "  Ruggles  replied:  "  Mosby's  command.  Where  are 
you  going?  "  Herold  replied:  "  It  is  a  secret.  Where  are 
you  going?  "  Herold  then  said  his  brother  had  been 
wounded  below  Petersburg,  and  asked  if  they  could 
take  him  down  to  their  lines.  Herold  then  inquired  of 
Captain  Jett  if  they  were  raising  a  command,  and,  if 
they  were,  he  would  like  to  go  with  them  south.  When 
he  was  informed  that  they  were  not  on  recruiting  serv- 
ice, he  seemed  to  be  disappointed,  and  then  said:  "We 
are  the  assassinators  of  President  Lincoln."  This  bit  of 
news  seemed  to  shock  the  Confederates,  and  they 
scarcely  knew  what  to  say.  Booth  soon  hobbled  up  to 
the  party,  when  Herold  introduced  him  as  Booth,  and 
Booth's  first  remark  was:  "  I  didn't  intend  telling  that." 
After  a  short  conversation  the  five  were  ferried  across 
the  river  to  Port  Royal.  Port  Conway  and  Port  Royal 
are  two  small  villages  directly  opposite  each  other  on 
the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock. 

Saturday  morning  after  breakfast  I  started  in  a  buggy 
to  the  home  of  William  Rollins,  five  miles  north  of  Port 
Conway,  to  interview  him,  as  he  was  the  man  whom  the 
detectives  pressed  into  service  to  conduct  them  and  the 
cavalry  to  Bowling  Green,  the  supposed  destination  of 
Booth  and  Herold.  Rollins  had  heard  the  fugitives  say 
upon  their  arrival  at  the  ferry,  in  the  presence  of  the  three 
Confederate  officers,  that  they  wanted  to  go  to  that  place. 
Rollins  was  at  the  time  of  my  visit  quite  an  old  man, 
and  very  feeble,*  but  gave  me  a  very  clear  account  of 
his  connection  with  the  case.  Said  he:  "While  I  was 
engaged  at  work  on  my  fish  nets  at  my  house  in  Port 
Conway,  someone  called  at  my  front  door,  and,  upon 
*  Mr.  Rollins  has  died  since  my  visit  to  him. 


2gO        ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

my  meeting  him,  he  asked  for  a  drink  of  water,  which  I 
handed  him.  He  then  asked  for  some  more  to  take  to 
his  brother,  who  was  lame,  over  on  the  other  side  of  the 
street,  thirty  or  forty  yards  distant.  As  soon  as  he  re- 
turned from  taking  his  '  brother  '  the  water,  he  began  to 
ask  some  questions  in  regard  to  crossing  the  ferry,  and 


•fHE  HOME  OF  WILLIAM  LUCAS. 

A  mile  from  the  country  home  of  Dr.  Stuart,  now  owned  by  David  Jett 
(colored),  whose  family  are  seen  in  the  picture.  Booth  was  not  refused 
admittance  into  this  simple  little  home.  He  spent  the  night  of  the  z$d  of 
April  in  it,  and  the  following  morning  William  Lucas  aided  the  fugitives 
on  their  journey. 

what  to  do  to  get  over.  I  told  him  that  the  boat  was  then 
aground,  and  they  would  have  to  wait  until  the  tide 
rose  before  they  could  get  over.  Herold  said  they  be- 
longed to  the  Confederate  service,  had  been  over  in 
Maryland,  and  wanted  to  get  back  to  the  army.  I  was 
asked  which  route  would  be  the  best,  and  I  could  not 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  29 1 

inform  them,  as  they  did  not  want  to  encounter  any 
Union  soldiers.  While  they  were  waiting  for  the  tide 
to  rise,  so  they  could  cross,  three  Confederate  officers 
came  down  the  road  to  cross,  and  they  all  crossed  to- 
gether. Next  day  in  the  afternoon  a  squad  of  Union 
soldiers  came  down  and  ordered  my  arrest  as  a  guide  to 
Bowling  Green.  The  same  night  we  cros'sed  the  ferry, 
just  before  sundown,  and  did  not  reach  Bowling  Green 
until  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock.  I  was  discharged 
about  daylight,  and  returned  to  my  home." 

After  my  return  from  Mr.  Rollins  I  went  to  the  ferry 
to  cross  the  river,  but  could  not  see  the  boat,  and  a  man 
standing  near  said  I  should  halloo;  but  my  voice  evi- 
dently did  not  reach  the  other  side  of  the  river,  for  I 
could  see  no  stir.  The  gentleman  standing  near  cried 
out  in  a  stentorian  voice :  "  Ferry  boat,  ahoy ! "  The 
ferryman  soon  appeared,  and  rowed  me  across.  Port 
Royal,  in  Caroline  County,  Virginia,  is  seventy-eight 
miles  from  Washington  and-  twenty-two  from  Fred- 
ericksburg.  It  was  created  a  town  by  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses in  1744.  It  was  formerly  one  of  the  principal 
markets  of  the  South  for  tobacco,  but  has  long  since  lost 
its  important  trade.  A  boat  stops  here  every  other  day 
from  Baltimore  to  Fredericksburg,  and  the  return  is 
made  on  the  alternate  day.  The  harbor  at  one  time 
admitted  vessels  drawing  eleven  feet  of  water.  Some 
fine  old  houses  still  stand  as  monuments  of  past  pros- 
perity. The  people  at  that  period  were  intelligent, 
wealthy,  hospitable,  and  aristocratic. 

When  Captain  Jett  with  his  companions  and  escort 
reached  this  side  of  the  river  he  tried  to  leave  Booth  and 
Herold  with  a  lady,  who  at  first  consented  to  receive 
them,  but  afterward  declined;  so  the  party  started  on  to- 
ward Bowling  Green,  Booth  riding  behind  Captain  Jett 


292 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


and  Herold  behind  Ruggles.  Booth  while  crossing  the 
river  requested  that  he  should  pass  thereafter  under  the 
name  of  Boyd. 

As  soon  as  I  landed  I  started  for  Garrett's  farm,  three 
miles  distant.  When  over  half  distance  a  young  man 
from  King  George  Court  House  drove  up,  and  shared 
with  me  his  seat  in  the  buggy.  He  was  looking  up  the 
faithful  voters,  and  cautioning  them  to  carefully  look  out 
for  the  doubtful  ones.  We  soon  reached  the  road  that 


PORT    CONWAY,    VA. 

On  the  Rappahannock  River.    Booth  and  Herold  were  driven  in  a  wagon 
to  this  place,  Monday,  April  24. 

leads  into  the  house,  about  three  hundred  yards  distant. 
Captain  Jett  came  this  same  road,  and  here  unloaded 
his  burden,  which  was  surely  a  great  relief  to  him.  I 
had  a  pleasant  conversation  with  Mr.  Garrett,  who  at  the 
time  Booth  made  his  visit  was  a  young  man.  The  house 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  293 

stands  just  as  it  did  at  that  time,  with  the  exception  of 
the  usual  repairs.  Several  of  the  boards  of  the  porch 
floort  stained  with  the  assassin's  blood,  have  been  taken 
up  and  sold  as  relics.  We  walked  out  to  the  spot  where 
stood  the  tobacco  house.  The  place  had  just  been 
plowed  over  for  a  crop  of  corn,  and  the  plow  struck  the 
end  of  one  of  the  cedar  posts  of  the  barn  and  pulled  up 
at  least  a  quarter  of  a  peck  of  decayed  cedar  wood, 
the  remains  of  one  of  the  posts  of  the  house.  Mr. 
Garrett  gave  me  a  diagram  of  the  barn,  or  rather 
tobacco  house.  During  the  day  (25th)  Booth  lounged 
around  the  yard  and  was  very  little  in  the  house. 
While  sitting  on  the  porch  the  boys  brought  out  a  six- 
barreled  revolver,  and  were  going  to  shoot  at  a  mark, 
when  Booth  said:  "I'm  a  good  marksman;  let  me 
try  my  hand.  Do  you  see  the  hole  in  the  gate  post? 
I  can  put  every  ball  in  it."  The  pistol  was  an  old  one, 
and  frequently  hung  fire,  and  when  he  had  snapped  six 
times  one  of  the  boys  examined  the  hole  and  not  one 
of  the  bullets  had  entered  it,  but  upon  examination 
were  all  found  in  the  revolver.  Booth  felt  somewhat 
chagrined  over  the  matter.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
last  previous  revolver  he  used  had  not  hung  fire  as  did 
this  one.  Booth  was  very  anxious  to  examine  a  large 
map  that  hung  on  the  wall,  and  asked  one  of  the  boys 
to  take  it  down.  Booth  spread  it  on  the  floor,  and  the 
two  sat  down  upon  it,  and  Booth  traced  out  a  route, 
and  Garrett  noticed  that  it  led  to  Mexico.  Now,  the 
great  mystery  is,  Why  did  he  keep  the  secret  of  his  deed 
from  the  Garrett's?  They  were  sympathizers  with  the 
South,  two  of  the  boys  having  just  returned  from  the 
Confederate  army,  and  yet  they  say  they  did  not  know 
why  Booth  was  there.  Booth  felt  free  to  tell  Lloyd  at 
Surrattsville,  Dr.  Mudd  at  Bryantown,  Colonel  Cox,  Mrs. 


294 


ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


Quesenberry,  and  everyone  along  the  route,  and  why 
did  he  keep  it  from  the  Garretts? 

The  capture  of  Booth  was  as  follows : 

William  Garrett  said  that  he  and  his  brother  John  were 
ordered  by  the  United  States  officers  to  carry  brush  and 


HOUSE    OF    WILLIAM    ROLLINS,    PORT    CONWAY. 

The  house  with  fish  nets  stretched  in  front  was  the  home  of  William 
Rollins  when  the  officers  pressed  him  into  service  as  a  guide  to  Bowling 
Xireen,  where  Booth  was  supposed  to  have  gone. 

pile  it  against  the  south  corner  of  the  barn,  and  when 
Booth  learned  what  they  were  doing,  said:  "  Boys,  stop 
that,  or  you  will  have  to  suffer  the  consequences."  They 
suddenly  ceased  their  operations,  reported  Booth's  threat 
to  the  officers,  and  did  not  carry  any  more  brush.  The 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  295 

officers  then  placed  William  at  the  southeast  corner  and 
John  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  barn,  and  told  Booth 
that  if  he  fired  upon  any  of  the  officers  or  soldiers  these 
boys  would  be  shot.  Booth  said  that  he  did  not  want 
to  shed  innocent  blood;  that  the  two  boys  were  innocent. 
William  Garrett  said  that  when  the  officer  had  set  the 
barn  on  fire,  and  the  flames  encroached  on  the  position 
that  Booth  took,  near  the  middle  of  the  barn,  he  could 
see  him  in  the  act  of  picking  up  a  washstand  that  stood 
near  him,  for  the  purpose,  he  thought,  of  fighting  the 
flames  that  were  creeping  toward  him. 

Miss  L.  K.  B.  Holloway,  a  school  teacher,  boarded 
at  Garrett's  at  the  time  Booth  visited  the  family,  and 
tells  some  very  interesting  reminiscences  of  the  occasion. 
She  was  at  the  house  when  the  three  Confederate  soldiers 
rode  tip  to  it,  Jett  having  Booth  behind  him  on  his 
horse.  Herold  had  been  left  at  the  gate  at  the  road. 
Jett  dismounted  and  approached  Mr.  Richard  H.  Gar- 
rett, saying:  "  This  is  Mr.  Garrett,  I  presume."  On  re- 
ceiving an  affirmative  answer  he  introduced  Booth  to 
him  as  his  friend  John  William  Boyd,  a  Confederate 
soldier,  who  had  been  wounded  in  the  battles  around 
Richmond,  at  the  same  time  requesting  Mr.  Garrett  to 
take  care  of  him  until  Wednesday  morning,  at  which 
time  he  would  call  for  him.  Mr.  Garrett  consented  to 
receive  the  so-called  friend  and  entertain  him.  It  was 
now  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Monday  the 
24th  of  April.  Jett  and  the  two  others  returned  to  the  gate 
where  Herold  was  waiting.  Herold  was  conveyed  on  the 
horse  behind  Ruggles  to  the  house  of  a  Mrs.  Clark,  who 
lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bowling  Green,  where  they 
spent  the  night,  Jett  going  on  to  Bowling  Green.  On 
the  following  afternoon  Jett  and.Bainbridge  rode  up  to 
Garrett's,  and  Herold  was  seen  to  dismount  from  behind 


296 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 


PORT    ROYAL,    VA. 

Opposite  Port  Conway.    When  Booth  reached  this  side  of  the  river  he 
was  taken  to  Garrett's,  three  miles  distant. 

Jett  and  walk  toward  the  house,  while  Jett  and  Bain- 
bridge  rode  off.  It  was  then  that  Booth  asked  Jack 
Garrett  to  go  upstairs  and  get  his  revolver.  When  asked 
why  he  wanted  it,  he  replied  he  always  felt  safer  when 
armed.  Then  he  was  asked  who  was  approaching,  to 
which  he  replied:  "Oh!  that  is  one  of  our  men." 
"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Jack.  "Why,  one  of 
those  who  crossed  over  with  us,"  he  said,  and,  walking 
off,  he  met  Herold  midway  between  the  gate  and  the 
house,  where  they  remained  in  close  conversation  for 
fully  half  an  hour,  after  which  they  both  came  to  the 
house.  Not  long  afterward  Jett  and  Bainbridge  rode  up 
hastily  to  the  house  to  see,  as  Jett  said,  how  his  friend 
Boyd  was  getting  along,  at  the  same  time  telling  him 
that  he  and  Herold  had  better  make  good  their  escape, 


NARRATIVE    OF  A   WALK.  297 

for  he  had  understood  that  the  Federal  troops  were 
crossing  over  from  Port  Conway  to  Port  Royal.  They 
then  galloped  off. 

It  was  about  an  hour  before  sundown,  while  Booth, 
Herold,  and  the  family  were  seated  on  the  porch,  that  the 
Federal  cavalry  was  seen  dashing  along  the  road  to 
Bowling  Green.  This  somewhat  alarmed  Booth,  and 
he  and  Herold  repaired  to  a  thicket  back  of  the  barn, 
remaining  there  until  supper  time.  The  action  of  Booth 
caused  some  little  suspicion  in  the  minds  of  the  Garretts, 
and  when  Booth  came  from  the  timber  he  was  asked  why 
they,  as  ex-Confederate  soldiers,  should  hide  them- 
selves now  that  the  war  was  over?  Booth  replied  that 
he  did  not  care  about  meeting  any  Federal  soldiers. 
Failing  to  comprehend  the  action  of  these  two  men,  Jack 
Garrett  resolved  to  institute  some  investigation.  Upon 
inquiry,  he  learned  that  the  Federal  troops  were  in  pur- 
suit of  two  Confederate  soldiers,  one  of  whom  was 
wounded;  and  the  description  which  they  gave  corre- 
sponded exactly  with  those  of  the  two  men  at  his  house. 
Upon  returning  home  he  asked  Booth  whether  they  had 
gotten  into  any  trouble,  saying:  "  You  know  what  you 
have  done ;  now  if  you  have  gotten  into  any  difficulty,  you 
must  leave  at  once,  for  I  do  not  want  you  to  bring  any 
trouble  upon  my  aged  father."  Booth  replied  that  they 
had  gotten  into  a  little  brush  over  in  Maryland,  but  it 
was  all  over. 

Miss  Holloway  said  that  Booth  was  very  cautious  in 
his  remarks  while  there.  He  would  join  in  the  con- 
versation and  make  himself  very  agreeable,  but  said 
little.  He  never  introduced  a  subject,  but  let  others  take 
the  lead  and  then  he  would  join  in.  A  great  many 
soldiers  in  going  through  that  part  of  the  country  would 
stop  at  Garrett's  for  something  to  eat  or  drink,  and 


298         ASSASSINATION  OF  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN. 

Miss  Holloway  said  that  as  a  general  thing  they  were 
very  talkative,  ever  ready  to  tell  of  what  they  did,  and 
to  express  their  opinion  as  to  the  final  results  of  the  war. 
Booth's  ways  were  so  different  from  these  that  it  was 
noticeable  by  the  family.  When  Jack  Garrett  brought 
Booth's  revolver  downstairs  and  handed  it  to  him,  Miss 
Holloway  was  sitting  on  the  front  porch.  As  Booth 
buckled  the  revolver  on,  she  noticed  that  he  had  two 
others.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  could  have  done  as 
he  said  he  could — pick  off  a  number  of  men  around  the 
tobacco  shed. 

Booth,  being  anxious  to  proceed  on  his  journey,  offered 
Jack  Garrett  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  his  horse; 
but  Garrett  no  doubt  valued  it  far  above  that  figure,  for 
it  was  a  present  from  General  Grant  at  Appomattox. 
This  was  an  illustration  of  the  value  of  General  Grant's 
magnanimous  order,  allowing  the  Confederate  paroled 
prisoners  to  take  to  their  homes  their  horses,  and  this 
order  gave  to  the. two  Garrett  boys  two  horses  with  which 
to  commence  life  anew  on  the  farm.  Booth  then  offered 
Jack  ten  dollars  to  take  him  to  Guinea  Station, 
eighteen  miles  distant,  and  he  agreed  to  take  him  early 
the  next  morning.  Booth  paid  Garrett  the  money  in 
advance.  The  next  morning  came,  but  Booth  was 
not  alive  to  take  the  trip.  Jack  Garrett  refunded  the 
money  to  Lieutenant  Baker.  Booth  had  no  money  on 
his  person  when  taken  from  the  barn,  and  the  Garretts 
supposed  that -when  he  found  he  could  not  escape  he 
threw  it  into  the  flames.  Jack  Garrett  asked  Booth  why 
he  wanted  to  go  to  Guinea  Station.  He  replied  that  he 
had  heard  that  there  was  a  Confederate  Maryland  Bat- 
tery near  Louisa  Court  House,  which  had  not  as  yet 
disbanded,  and  if  he  could  reach  that  he  would  be  safe. 
When  the  hour  came  for  their  last  night's  retirement 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  299 

upon  earth,  Booth  asked  if  there  was  an  outhouse  in 
which  he  could  sleep  that  night,  in  order  that  he  need 
not  go  upstairs.  Being  asked  why  he  wished  to  sleep 
out,  he  replied:  "I  had  rather  not  go  upstairs."  On 
being  told  that  there  was  no  place  in  which  he  could  be 
made  comfortable,  he  replied  that  anywhere  would  do 
rather  than  go  upstairs.  Booth  proposed  sleeping  on  the 
porch,  but  the  elder  Garrett  objected,  saying:  "  The  dogs 
will  bite;  you  can't  sleep  there."  They  were  then  con- 
ducted to  a  large  tobacco  house,  in  which  was  stored  a 
lot  of  valuable  furniture  belonging  to  the  people  at  Port 
Royal,  who  had  placed  it  there  for  safe-keeping,  as 
depredations  were  being  committed  by  soldiers,  and  this 
furniture  was  principally  old  family  pieces.  After  they 
had  entered,  Jack  Garrett  locked  the  door  and  gave  the 
key  to  Miss  Holloway,  saying  that  he  would  leave  it  in 
her  hands,  and  cautioned  her  not  to  let  anyone  have  it, 
as  it  was  his  opinion  their  visitors  intended  trying  to  steal 
the  horses  and  escape.  After  the  strangers  had  been 
safely  locked  up,  Jack  and  his  brother  William  armed 
themselves  and  went  out  into  a  shed  near  the  tobacco 
house  to  spend  the  night  and  keep  watch  on  their 
neighbors. 

About  two  o'clock  the  next  morning  (Wednesday)  the 
family  was  aroused  from  sleep  by  the  loud  barking  of 
dogs,  the  clanking  of  arms,  and  the  heavy  tread  of 
soldiers  pacing  up  and  down  the  porch.  Soon  the  in- 
mates discovered  that  a  sentinel  had  been  placed  at  every 
door  and  window,  and  that  the  whole  yard  was  full  of 
soldiers.  All  at  once  there  was  heard  a  rush  for  the  porch 
at  the  end  of  the  house,  followed  by  a  violent  battering 
against  the  kitchen  door,  with  frequent  demand  that  it 
be  opened.  When  the  senior  Mr.  Garrett  heard  the 
racket  he  arose,  partially  dressed  himself,  and  hastened 


3OO         ASSASSINATION   OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

to  the  door  to  inquire  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  As  soon 
as  he  made  his  appearance  he  was  roughly  seized  and 
asked  what  he  meant  by  harboring  Booth,  the  murderer 
of  the  President.  He  answered  that  he  was  not  harbor- 
ing the  murderer  of  the  President.  Instantly,  notwith- 
standing the  entreaties  of  his  wife  and  little  two-year-old 
daughter,  he  was  taken  by  force  from  the  house,  half 
clad,  threatened  with  handcuffs  and  the  rope,  and  a  pistol 
was  placed  at  his  breast.  He  was  taken  into  the  yard  and 
set  upon  a  block,  where  he  remained  until  eight  o'clock 
the  next  morning,  with  two  soldiers  guarding  him.  When 
Mr.  Garrett  learned  that  the  officers  and  men  had  come 
to  his  place  to  arrest  Booth,  the  assassin  of  the  Presi- 
dent, it  suddenly  dawned  upon  him  that  this  Boyd  must 
be  Booth,  and  also  that  the  officers  had  been  directed 
to  his  place  by  Jett,  who,  when  brought  forward  in  the 
morning,  was  accused  by  Mr.  Garrett  of  piloting  the 
soldiers  there  and  bringing  all  this  trouble  upon  him. 
Jett  made  no  reply  to  this  accusation.  Miss  Holloway 
informed  me  that  after  Booth  was  shot  and  carried 
to  the  porch  by  the  soldiers  she  moistened  his  lips  and 
tongue  three  times,  as  he  lay  upon  the  porch,  by  dip- 
ping her  handkerchief  in  some  water.  His  tongue 
protruded  each  time  that  he  made  an  effort  to  speak, 
and  by  this  moistening  he  was  enabled  to  faintly 
whisper  his  message  to  his  mother,  and  the  declara- 
tion that  he  thought  he  did  what  was  right.  Miss 
Holloway  placed  a  pillow  under  his  head  and  was  rub- 
bing his  forehead,  when  he  gave  three  gasps  and  died. 
A  stray  curl  fell  over  her  hand,  and  she  requested  Dr. 
Urquhart  to  cut  it  off  and  give  it  to  her,  which  he  did. 
After  the  departure  of  the  body  from  the  farm  Miss  Hol- 
loway said:  "I  went  to  the  bookcase  for  some  books, 
when  the  first  thing  that  greeted  my  eyes  was  a  pair  of 


NARRATIVE   OF  A   WALK.  3<DI 

opera  glasses,  which  I  knew  did  not  belong  to  any  of  the 
family.  I  concluded  they  must  be  Booth's,  so  I  took 
them  to  Mr.  Garrett  and  asked  him  what  I  should  do 
with  them.  He  replied:  'Take  them  out  of  my  sight; 
I  do  not  want  to  see  anything  that  will  remind  me  of 
this  dreadful  affair.'  I  told  him  I  would  send  them  up 
to  my  mother  in  a  day  or  two.  I  then  took  a  pin  and 
marked  J.  W.  B.  under  the  buckle  on  the  strap.  Dur- 
ing the  day  my  brother,  Robert  G.  Holloway,  came  to 
Mr.  Garrett's,  and  I  gave  them  to  him  to  take  up  to 
my  mother,  thinking  they  were  too  valuable  to  be  de- 
stroyed in  the  way  of  burning,  as  Mr.  Garrett  had  di- 
rected. I  thought  of  sending  them  to  a  friend  of 
mine  who  lived  in  Richmond,  Va.  The  next  evening 
Lieutenant  Baker,  in  company  with  Jack  Garrett,  came 
to  Mr.  Garrett's  in  quest  of  them.  They  did  not  really 
know  they  were  there,  but  simply  supposed  Booth  had 
them  and  thought  they  might  be  at  Garrett's.  Lieutenant 
Baker  asked  Mr.  Garrett  if  they  were  not  in  his  pos- 
session, and  without  any  hesitancy  he  told  the  lieutenant 
that  I  had  them.  Baker  then  came  to  me  and  asked 
where  they  were.  I  very  reluctantly  told  him.  He  and 
Jack  Garrett  went  up  to  my  mother's,  about  eight  miles, 
and  got  them.  They  returned  to  Mr.  Garrett's  about 
four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  remained  all  night,  re- 
turning to  Washington  the  next  morning." 

The  two  boys,  Jack  and  Willie,  were  taken  prisoners 
to  Washington  by  the  soldiers  and  confined  in  Old 
Capitol  Prison,  and  on  the  return  of  Lieutenant  Baker  to 
Garrett's  he  took  Jack  with  him  as  a  guide.  Booth's 
stopping  here  has  made  a  landmark  of  Garrett's  farm. 
The  family  is  of  a  retired  nature,  and  do  not  enjoy  the 
notoriety  that  has  come  to  them. 

I  returned  to  Port  Royal  in  time  to  dine  at  a  new 


302 


ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


boarding-house,  politely  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Arthur 
L.  Garrett — not  any  way  related  to  the  family  of  the 
same  name  which  I  had  just  visited.  Here  I  met  Dr. 
Robert  S.  Holloway,  a  physician  of  many  years'  prac- 
tice, and  Mr.  Champ  Thompson,  owner  of  the  ferry.  He 
is  eighty  years  of  age,  and  has  always  lived  in  Port 
Royal.  In  1852  he  purchased  the  ferry  for  two  thousand 
dollars,  and  it  was  a  fine  investment,  paying  six  per  cent. 
Mr.  Thompson  let  his  son  run 
the  ferry  for  several  years,  mak- 
ing all  out  of  it  that  he  could. 
He  hired  a  colored  man,  James 
Thornton,  to  run  it,  giving  him 
half  the  proceeds.  I  was  in- 
formed that  the  colored  ferry- 
man was  still  living  in  the  place, 
so  I  looked  him  up.  He  is  an 
old  man  now,  but  his  memory 
of  the  crossing  of  Booth  alive 
and  Booth  dead  is  very  vivid. 
He  was  on  the  Port  Conway  side 
when  Booth  and  Herold  came  to 
the  river.  They  did  not  converse 
much  with  him,  but  were  quite 

confidential  with  William  Rollins  and  the  three  Con- 
federate officers.  When  they  were  ready  to  be  taken 
across,  and  rode  up  on  the  boat,  Thornton  asked  Booth 
to  dismount,  as  it  was  against  the  rules  to  allow  anyone 
to  ride  a  horse  on  the  boat.  Booth  would  not  obey  his 
command,  so  he  was  permitted  to  keep  his  seat.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  actions  of  the  party  that  created  any 
suspicion  in  the  mind  of  the  ferryman,  except  the  whis- 
perings between  the  parties.  The  next  day  in  the  after- 
noon the  cavalry  came,  and,  as  they  stopped  at  the  ferry, 


JAMES    THORNTON. 

The  colored  ferryman  who 
ferried  Booth  and  Herold 
across  the  Rappahannock 
on  the  24th  April,  and  the 
detectives  and  cavalry  the 
following  day. 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   WALK.  303 

one  of  the  officers  asked  the  ferryman  if  two  men  had 
crossed  the  river  recently.  Mr.  Thornton  said  that  three 
men  with  horses  and  two  men  brought  there  in  a  spring 
wagon  were  all  that  passed  over  the  day  before.  He  said 
the  wind  blew  very  strong  that  day,  and  he  only  made 
one  trip.  The  officers  inquired  their  destination,  and  Mr. 
Thornton  replied  that  he  understood  they  wanted  to  go 
to  Bowling  Green.  The  officers  wanted  to  compel  Mr. 
Thornton  to  go  with  them  to  Bowling  Green  as  a  guide, 
but  he  told  them  that  he  had  a  "  rising  "  on  his  finger, 
and  it  was  very  painful,  but  he  directed  them  to  William 
Rollins  as  having  been  present  and  engaged  in  conversa- 
tion with  the  party,  who,  if  the  cavalry  would  go 
across  the  river,  would  show  them  the  road.  They 
crossed,  and  Mr.  Rollins  was  pressed  into  service, 
much  to  the  relief  of  Thornton.  As  soon  as  the  order 
was  given,  the  whole  party,  thirty  men  with  horses, 
dashed  on,  crowding  the  "  horse  ferryboat  "  to  its  utmost 
capacity,  the  ferryman  protesting,  and  saying  that  the 
boat  leaked,  and  would  not  carry  such  a  load;  but  the 
soldiers  were  not  to  be  frightened  at  this  announcement, 
and  the  load  went  over  in  safety,  although  a  few  worked 
hard  bailing  out  the  water.  Mr.  Thornton  has  been  wait- 
ing all  these  years  for  the  toll  due  from  the  two  crossings 
of  the  officers  and  cavalry,  and  I  think  he  ought  to  have 
been  paid.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  an  officer 
rode  into  Port  Royal  and  roused  up  Mr.  Thornton,  ancf 
told  him  to  be  in  readiness  to  take  a  party  across  the 
river.  When  the  procession  came  along  the  citizens 
turned  out,  surprised  at  the  rude  funeral  car  surrounded 
by  an  escort  of  cavalry.  When  a  stop  was  made  at  the 
wharf  the  curiosity  of  some  led  them  to  peer  into  the 
vehicle,  but  they  were  soon  ordered  back.  All  they  could 
see  was  a  pair  of  feet  protruding  from  under  a  blanket. 


304         ASSASSINATION   OF   ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  passage  over  the  river  until 
every  inhabitant  of  Port  Royal  knew  that  the  mysterious 
person  was  the  assassin  of  the  President. 

The  end  of  my  journey  had  been  reached,  all  the 
information  relating  to  the  flight,  pursuit,  and  capture 
of  Booth  gained  that  could  be,  and  I  was  ready  to  take 
the  boat  for  Fredericksburg.  The  arrival  of  the  boat 
from  Baltimore  depends  upon  the  amount  of  freight  to 
be  loaded  and  unloaded  at  the  numerous  wharfs  along 
the  river.  The  Saturday  previous  it  arrived  twenty  min- 
utes past  five,  and  I  was  ready  at  the  wharf  at  the  time, 
but,  after  waiting  an  hour,  I  walked  back  to  the  town 
and  loitered  around  the  street  corners  until  Mr.  Thorn- 
ton invited  me  to  accompany  him  home,  there  to  remain 
until  the  boat  whistled,  which  would  give  me  sufficient 
time  to  reach  the  wharf  by  the  time  it  made  fast.  I  ac- 
cepted his  kind  invitation,  and  was  sitting  in  his  spacious 
residence  when  I  heard  the  boat  whistle  at  half-past 
eight  o'clock.  1  bade  Mr.  Thornton  good-by,  walked 
out  to  the  gate,  then  turned  to  the  left  on  a  path  leading 
along  the  fence.  I  had  left  my  leather  bag  down  at  the 
wharf  with  the  many  views  that  I  had  taken,  and  was 
fearful  that  someone  might  purloin  it,  so  started  to  run. 
I  had  not  gone  far  when  I  thought  I  would  step  into 
the  road,  which  I  could  see  to  my  right,  although  it  was 
quite  dark.  I  had  forgotten  that  the  road  had  been  cut 
through  an  embankment  and  was  at  least  five  feet  below 
the  path  I  stepped  from.  I  fell,  and  lit  on  my  right 
shoulder  in  the  road.  Lying  stunned  for  a  moment  or 
two,  I  arose  and  proceeded  to  the  boat,  which  had  tied  up 
at  the  wharf.  I  reached  Fredericksburg  a  little  after 
midnight,  remained  there  until  morning,  and  took  the 
early  train  for  Washington,  where  I  arrived  at  a  quarter 
of  nine  o'clock.  I  did  not  recover  from  my  fall  for  four 


NARRATIVE  OF  A  WALK.  305 

weeks,  and  a  part  of  the  time  I  suffered  great  pain. 
Aside  from  this  accident  there  was  no  occurrence  to  mar 
my  tramp  of  eighty  miles. 

I  shall  ever  have  pleasant  recollections  of  the  kind  hos- 
pitality that  I  received  from  the  people  along  the  route. 
This  is  only  characteristic  of  the  Southern  people. 


O.  H.   OLDROYD,    Publisher 

WASHINGTON,   D.   C. 

WORDS   OF  LINCOLN 

Compiled  by  OSBORN  H.  OLDROYD 


12mo,    Cloth,    $1.00.    SENT  UPON  RECEIPT  OF  PRICE 


This  "  Rich  Collection  of  Gems  "  direct  from  the  lips  of 
Lincoln,  from  over  two  hundred  different  orations,  speeches, 
debates,  letters,  etc.,  chronologically  arranged,  dating  from 
1832  to  1865,  makes  practically  a  life  of  Lincoln  in  his  own 
words.  Together  with  over  300  BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTES  by  emi- 
nent men,  giving  their  opinion  of  his  life  and  character.  All 
carefully  indexed. 

ILLUSTRATIONS: 

Four  portraits  of  Lincoln,  1842,  1853,  1860,  1864.  Home- 
stead at  Springfield,  111.  White  House.  Capitol.  Ford's 
Theater,  where  he  was  assassinated.  The  Chair  in  which 
he  was  seated  when  shot.  House  in  which  he  died.  Group — 
Lincoln,  Nicolay,  and  Hay,  and  finally  the  Tomb  and  Monu- 
ment at  Springfield,  111.,  where  his  body  is  resting. 

Wm.  McKinley,  President  United  States:  "  The  task  un- 
dertaken is  evidently  a  patriotic  one,  and  appeals  to  the  best 
aspirations  of  the  American  people." 

Alexander  H.  Rice,  ex-Governor  of  Massachusetts: 
"  '  Words  of  Lincoln  '  will  be,  to  those  who  read  and  remem- 
ber them,  of  more  value  than  so  many  ingots  of  gold." 

The  book  contains  extracts  from  Lincoln's  letters,  speeches, 
and  state  papers,  that  indicate  the  child  and  the  man  as  he 
existed;  his  environment  and  the  motives  that  led  him  to 
take  many  steps  which  to  others  seemed  to  penetrate  into 
darkness.  His  nature  is  disclosed.  His  soul,  the  saddest  ever 
possessed  by  a  great  chieftain,  may  be  read  and  understood. 
There  is  a  glorious  buoyancy  in  them  all  until  his  election  to 
the  Presidency,  and  then  his  deeper,  more  humane  nature 
asserts  supremacy  and  his  mind  is  filled  with  doubts  and  fore- 
bodings of  the  great  struggle  that  he  foresees,  in  which  he  is 
to  fill  so  large  a  part.  His  strong  and  positive  nature  is 
shown,  and  his  determination  to  do  the  right  as  it  was  given 
him  to  see  it,  his  faith  in  God  and  in  the  cause  for  which  he 
was  battling,  is  forcibly  set  forth. — New  York  Times. 


O.  R   OLDROYD,   PubHsher 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C 
THE 

Assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln 


•    BY 
OSBORN    H.    OLDROYD 


12mo,  CLOTH,  $1.00.      SENT  UPON  RECEIPT  OF  PRICE 


Lincoln's   Campaign 

OR 

THE    POLITICAL    REVOLUTION    OF    i860 

BY 
OSBORN    H.    OLDROYD 


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RECEIPT  OP  PRICE 


A  most  graphic  picture  of  those  troubled  times  when  the 
fate  of  the  Union  was  hanging  in  the  balance.  The  author, 
who  lived  for  over  ten  years  in  Lincoln's  old  homestead, 
Springfield,  111.,  now  resides  in  the  very  house  wherein  the 
martyr-President  breathed  his  last.  He  has  made  it  his  life 
work  to  gather  therein  unique  mementos,  precious  old  news- 
papers and  engravings,  famous  old  campaign  songs,  etc., 
from  the  great  days  of  the  Civil  War.  We  have  had  our  pick 
out  of  this  priceless  collection,  and  it  renders  these  reminis- 
cences of  the  very  highest  interest,  as  nothing  like  it,  both  in 
text  and  design,  has  ever  been  issued  in  book  form.  To 
speeches,  platforms,  dramatic  incidents,  both  in  and  out  of 
the  nominating  conventions,  are  added  campaign  JOKES, 
clever  CARICATURES,  and  popular  REFRAINS. 


